This year Marie Curie 158 chose Matilda Jr. as the musical theater performance. The spectacular theater club- one of many clubs students at M.S.158 participate in- is made up of two branches, which are the cast and set design. The club is run by 2 of our amazing ARTS teachers Ms. Allen, the chorus teacher and Ms. Carlucci, the dance teacher. I’ll be interviewing Nadia Tsou from the cast of Matilda, and Timothy Lai from set design about their overall experience and what goes on.
CAST:
Q: What does the cast do in a play?
A: In a musical, the cast works together to act everything out in order to perform a play.
Q: What does an average meeting/rehearsal look like?
A: Every Wednesday and Thursday, the cast meets after PM homeroom for rehearsal. The stage crew plays all the sound effects and music required to put together the play, and also sets up some of the props on stage.
Q: What made you want to join the cast?
A: I enjoy performing on a stage in front of an audience, and I wanted to try being in a play. On top of acting, I also get to dance, which is one of my favorite hobbies.
Q: What is your favorite song so far?
A: So far, my favorite song is Revolting Children. It includes a challenging dance full of energy, making it fun to perform!
Q: What do you think the cast does great on?
A: We have an awesome ability to work together, and we have great acting talents.
Q: What do you think the cast needs to work on?
A: I think that we need to work on staying focused; sometimes we can get a bit carried away.
SET DESIGN:
Q: What does Set Design do?
A: Set Design is a part of Theater Club which makes props and sets. We do a lot of posters, cardboard stuff, and painting.
Q: What does an average meeting look like?
A:: We meet at 2:20 after PM Homeroom, in the Chorus Room (129) with Ms. Allen and Ms. Carlucci, and put the chairs in stacks, so there is an open space. We then gather our materials, like paint, pencils and even Model Magic clay and start working on our projects. At about 3:45, we start cleanup and put materials away and put the chairs back.
Q: What made you want to join set design?
A: I wanted to join set design, because I wanted to move on to a part of set design called stage crew. Stage crew moves the said props and sets between scenes and control lights.
Q: What is your favorite prop so far?
A: I love the cameras, the people making the camera put in details that make the camera more realistic and they’re making it so when someone takes a picture, the little doors on the lens open and close. The clay cake is fun too.
Q: What do you think the team does great on?
A: I think that we have great artistic minds and talent, leading to great props and sets. They look splendid.
Q: What do you think the team could work on?
A: The one thing I think they could work on is that some people aren’t on task, so I would say for the team to be more on task.
Image above is similar to the MS 158 set design
Overall, the people behind the scenes have had a pretty fun time working on the show, also with the people. If you like singing, acting, dancing, art, or just want to do it for fun, you should consider joining the theater club next year! If you want to see the musical and the amazing work that the Theater Club put in, there are tickets on sale for Friday, May 31st and Saturday June 1st. Tickets are at the MS158 website at ms158q.com!