Written by Serafina Sicignano |

While Fiddler On the Roof is not the first musical that I have had a lead in, (In Thoroughly Modern Millie, I was Muzzy Van Hossmere), the feelings I am experiencing, especially this week are very similar. The next two weeks of my life are fondly referred to as Hell Week. During these next two weeks, our casts will be rehearsing non stop from after school until as long as it takes for us to get the scenes right. Usually it doesn’t take more than two hours unless the scene is complicated or the cast does not cooperate. Sometimes Hell Week is not even that bad. We keep going over the same things because we want the scene to be perfect. Usually after a small talk and a few seniors taking control and setting an example, everything begins to run smoothly. For every lead, Hell Week is different, but since I can only speak for myself, I will. I often joke with my cast mates because they know this about me: right before I go on stage, I feel very nervous, and I start dancing around in place. Moments later an abnormal calm washes over me. Once onstage I am composed and can portray the intended emotion. The week before sometimes I psych myself out and get nervous. For me, this does not help because the probability of me messing up the lines is greater. I owe it to not only  my cast mates but also to the art of the musical.

Hell Week is also the time when cast members start to see everything come together. All in all Hell Week has the potential to be not only productive but also positive and fun. While Hell Week does sound intimidating and negative, whether we like it or not, Hell Week brings the cast closer together. Essentially we are all forced to spend long rehearsals together. In a small sense we are like a family, and I could not be more comfortable with the people who act with me on stage. Even though at the beginning  we are forced to spend time together, real friendships are formed, and we all work together to make sure the scene runs as smoothly as possible. Most of the work is done by Hell Week; now we work on running through it until we are so comfortable with it that the personalities of the characters’ start to come out when we are rehearsing the scenes. It’s amazing how in only ten weeks, we can produce a rendition of a musical that we are all proud of, and will impress the audience. I know that the role of Golde after these ten weeks will have a special place in my heart as Muzzy had before this role. We work very hard which is part of the reason why we call Hell Week, Hell Week. While yes most of us complain about the work we put into the musical and the amount of times we might have to redo a scene, on opening night not one person is disappointed. As a cast, we could not be more proud and satisfied with the end result.