Musical Theatre Exploration

Musical Theatre Exploration

By Eurielle and Riley

6/7 School News Team

Our exploration for 12 weeks for the 6th and 7th graders is Musical Theatre, taught by Del Norte High School students Rachel Downs and Angelica McDaniel.  We have been rehearsing every Monday and Wednesday to get ready to perform flawlessly. The Wizard of Oz, our current show has encouraged students to perform with confidence.

“I volunteered for musical theatre because I have a background in it and I really enjoy teaching and have never been on the director’s side.  So it was like a different view for me,” said Miss Angelica.  “I did it because my dad told me they needed people to do musical theatre.  I had not known what I was going to do, but then I started it and I was glad to teach you guys!”  Miss Rachel said. The students have tons of fun singing, acting and dancing.

They chose Wizard of OZ because it has a lot of roles for a variety of people and it's a fun classic musical that everyone loves!

In this exploration, students learn how to project their voice, and it can help them with improv. Improv is when you make up something on the spot. If you forget your line, you can improv it to make it seem as if it were part of the show!

Some of the shows that Miss Rachel and Miss Angelica have performed in are Hairspray, Legally Blonde and Beauty and the Beast!   They perform in a musical theater group called BTAA.

Good Man Charlie Brown may be the next show. Good Man Charlie Brown has spots for many characters. When Miss Rachel comes up with the choreography, she typically tends to just listen to the beat and just think of how the character would act. “So I just kinda come up with it on the spot as I'm teaching you guys.  Sometimes I come up with it beforehand but a majority of the time I change it and make it better when you guys are there!” says Rachel.

What is the most exciting thing to you? “I think being in front of a huge crowd, I love the rush! When your like, scared and excited at the same time,” says Angelica. “I like watching you guys perform at the end  to see how much you have conquered and how much you've grown as a student!” says Miss Rachel. From the past classes of musical theatre, we have been working hard to show our audience what we have learned so far.

What has changed from the past and now? “From the beginning, I did not know how to teach you guys, we had no clue! Now we can actually find a way to connect with you guys and get your energy out before you start doing something or plan ways to get you guys interested in doing something.”

When they pick characters they look for energy.  They don't really care about who's more talented.  They just care if you want to be there and you get to do something!  Miss Rachel told us, “My expectation was actually very low because I didn't trust myself to teach you guys enough, but now the reality is that you guys can do a lot more then you get credit for.”

Thank you Miss Rachel and Miss Angelica for teaching us Musical Theater.