Written by James Saturno |
Photos by James Saturno |
March 18th marked the end of an era for the Morgan Musical, as many faces who have become synonymous with the program are set to graduate in June. For those graduating, “She Loves Me” served as an exclamation point to punctuate their illustrious high school performing careers.
Of the cast’s seven seniors, all of whom played principal roles in this most recent production, six of them have been involved for all four years, with the exception of Matt Beauvais, who has been a member for three.
When asked how they felt about their last show, many expressed a bittersweet gratitude. “The most difficult part about this particular show was knowing that this was my last performance,” said Antonio Tran, who played Mr. Maraczek in all four of the play’s showings.
Many others held similar sentiments, pointing out their personal growth as a result of the program. Stephen Zumpano, who appeared as Georg Nowack for two nights, said “I think I blossomed very well. Being on stage is something that is, at this point, natural for me. I’ve also learned that there’s a lot of responsibility that comes with being an actor, especially if you want to pursue a professional career.
When asked what was most difficult about this particular show, many cited the emphasis placed on principal roles, each of which was played by a senior. “The interesting thing about She Loves Me is that there are only two ensemble scenes, which means that a majority of the time, ¾ days that we rehearsed, it was only the principals rehearsing. This meant that we spent a LOT of time rehearsing every week, more than I did for the other productions I’ve been a part of,” remarked Brett Martin, who starred as Georg Nowack on the 15th and the 17th.
All of the seniors look back fondly on their high school acting careers. Matt Beauvais said, “I’m very happy that Brett convinced me to do the show sophomore year. The shows have always been a lot of work, but the satisfaction in the end product has always been so great and the group of people that do it couldn’t be better. From the time I was starting out as a sophomore to today, I’ve definitely noticed improvement in myself. Without a doubt, I’m far more confident in myself now than when I started.” Matt appeared as Steven Kodaly in the production.
Finally, the departing stars shared advice for up-and-coming high school actors. “The only advice I would give to aspiring high school actors is to have commitment to your craft. If you are not committed you will drag down the others you are acting with. As long as you are committed and flexible to work with, that’s all you need to become Morgan’s next big star! You won’t know how great acting and performing is until you try it. You won’t stop coming back for more after you got that first taste,” remarked Miles Waterbury, who played Ladislav Sipos.
On a lighter note, Abby Morrison, who appeared as Ilona Ritter, offered the following: “Have fun! Don’t get caught up in what people think about you. You will have so much fun with it if you just chill and be yourself!”
