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Take an inside look in what it is truly like to be a technician, cast member or pit member in the Dexter Drama Club
WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY MAYA ROYS
The show must go on! Even with Icemeggadon, the Dexter Drama Club was able to hold Auditions on Tuesday, February 21, and callbacks on Friday, February 24, as well as tech and pit sign-ups in that same week.
The cast, crew, and pit listings were posted on the Dexter Drama Club website and Instagram page on Monday, February 27, for the upcoming musical. This year, the Dexter Drama Club has done three productions so far: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; the 3D series (Dexter Drama Directing series); and Disney’s Descendants.
Additionally, members of the Dexter Drama Club that are International Thespian members went to the Thespian Festival in Lansing the weekend of December 9. But how is the DDC able to get from auditions to performing and showing an audience what the drama club has worked so hard to achieve?
Audience members may not know what actually goes into moving from auditions to creating a show that gets a standing ovation on opening night. For example, the whole school doesn’t go to callbacks to see the basketball captain and the freaky math girl sing a duet like in the movie High School Musical.
Most of the portrayals of drama or theatre kids on television are stereotypes of what they are really like and don’t show the reality of what it’s like to be a part of a drama club. But some are true; some drama kids really do sing all the time without any prompting, and many drama kids are very enthusiastic when you talk to them about theatre. But what many people don’t see are the members of the Dexter Drama Club spend hours upon hours in the CPA working extremely hard to make a show that everybody can be proud of.
There are so many moving parts that go into making a production happen, as well as many pieces that have to fit together in order to create a beautiful production. There are literal moving pieces that are carried or rolled on and off of stage by the highly-important running crew and stage managers. There are spotlights on actors and actresses that pick them up when they walk across the stage.
Little microphones (Lavs) are tapped to actors and actresses so that the audience can hear them deliver their lines or sing the song that they have been rehearsing for weeks. There are instrumental versions of each song that allow actors to sing their songs and do all of their dances while following along to the instrumentals.
Cast members wear elaborate hair, make-up, and costumes that coincide with whatever performance is going on at that time.
This doesn’t magically happen on its own. Cast members don’t magically know their lines or dance routines. There is a tremendous amount of time and effort put in by every single person in the Dexter Drama Club.
Tech week might be a phrase that many people outside of the Dexter Drama Club have heard. This is a two-week physically and emotionally draining process for everyone within the Dexter Drama Club. But, what really is this thing called “Tech Week?”
Well, in simple terms, it is when the cast, crew, and pit show what they have worked on by themselves but also help to make sure that the show can come together cohesively. During tech week, the cast, crew, and pit members spend up to 15 hours a day at the high school, and up to three hours at home for two weeks straight. In total, that is about 210 hours spent at Dexter High School during tech and show week alone.
It would be even more if someone were to add up the rest of the hours spent at rehearsals, pit rehearsals, tech/crew meetings, or fun, non-mandatory events that happen before tech and show week. This may seem intimidating and daunting to people outside of the Drama Club, but if you were to ask a drama kid why they do what they do they would start by saying, “I would love to tell you.” Then, they’ll likely say something that emphasizes their passion for theater and because the drama club is truly a family formed by all of the time spent together. That may sound cheesy or corny, but it’s the truth.
There are people that have been a part of the Dexter Drama Club since 6th-grade and there is a valuable reason for that. Senior Dia Biggs joined the Dexter Drama Club in the fall of her 7th-grade year. Since then, she has done every production that she has been able to do. She plans on attending Heidelberg University in Ohio and wants to pursue a career in stage management. Dia has been a part of several different technical crews such as props, running crew, publicity, and costumes.
But stage management has always been her passion.
“I was approached and asked if I wanted to stage manage and I said yes,” Biggs said. “I never thought of actually doing it until I was asked.”
Biggs has also been in cast but she started signing up for technical crews because she discovered that it was more enjoyable for her. When asked why she keeps coming back to drama, she said that the people make her want to come back and that since she is going to college for theatre she doesn’t want to walk away from theatre at DHS.
Biggs is a student that is considered a veteran of the drama club and is going to be remembered for years after she graduates. Another student that has been a member of the Dexter Drama Club for several years is Dexter Drama Club president Shelly Beach. Beach, a senior, has been a member of the drama club for six years, as well as having been a part of sixteen productions total.
“I didn’t know much because I was only in 7th grade,” Beach said, reflecting on her knowledge of the Dexter Drama Club in elementary school. “I just knew that a lot of older kids were in the program, and they were cool.”
Beach has had numerous roles throughout her 16 productions, but her first ever role was a lioness in the Lion King. Her favorite role, she recalled, was when she played Ursula in the Little Mermaid. She explained that this was because it was her first big role.
Her favorite production was Footloose because everyone involved in the production had an amazing level of energy and was excited during the entire process. In that production, she played the iconic and amazing Wendy Jo. Beach has had to audition for several productions, going through the motions of the process several times.
“Go all out; it’s something I struggle with but this is your chance to show the directors what you can do,” she said, regarding what advice she would give to someone who is thinking about auditioning for a production. “As soon as you step into the audition room you are being considered, so put your best foot forward.”
To someone who has never auditioned for a role before, auditions may not seem like something you’d be interested in, but they are just one part of the process. Few people get turned away from the Dexter Drama Club because of auditions according to members. In the theatre industry there are no metaphorical boxes; You can do whatever makes you happy.
The Dexter Drama Club has a reputation for being a welcoming and accepting community within DHS and members say that is 100% true. Members of the DDC are some of the most welcoming and outgoing people at DHS.
Next time you see a student wearing a shirt that has the words, “Dexter Drama Club Presents” written on it, ask them about drama because they would love to tell you all about it.
