Rehearsals started in January for the San Benito High School drama club show that opens tonight
Rehearsals started in January for the San Benito High School drama club show that opens tonight
The San Benito High School drama club is full of cliques – or at least it has been since the club started rehearsals for the spring production of Disney’s “High School Musical,” opening on Friday.
The play based on the popular movie features drama club kids, jocks, skaters, goths and the smart kids – as well as a few kids who would prefer not to be stuck in just one category.
San Benito High School drama teacher and club advisor Kristen Porter said the choice of play was spurred by the musical director Amy Oelrich.
“She knew a lot of students really wanted to do the show,” Porter said. “I let her choose.”
While some students were enthusiastic about the show, others took a while to
warm up to it.
Samantha Santos, a senior who plays Sharpay, said she knows the story well from watching the movie when she was younger.
“I was a little skeptical because it’s known for being cheesy and overly done,” she said. “But once we got into it, it was really fun.”
Santos, 18, has been involved in the drama club for four years.
“I’m sad this will be my last show, but it will be a good one to end it,” she said.
She said the character of Sharpay was easy to get into because she knew what her personality was like from the movies. The one challenge has been partnering with the actor who plays Sharpay’s twin brother. Santos’ favorite scene is the one where the twins audition for the school musical because it is her big number.
“It’s great to see everyone put in a lot of work and it turned out better than I thought it would,” she said.
Taylor Lawrence, a 16-year-old junior, plays the lead of Gabriella, a smart kid who wants to try out for the play. She has been in “Annie” and “Seussical.”
“I was really excited about it,” Lawrence said. “When I was little I loved it (the movie) so I thought it would be fun to be part of it.”
Lawrence said her biggest challenge has been memorizing her lines because she has so many of them.
“But it’s been fun,” she said. “My favorite part is putting it all together – the dancing and knowing all the songs.”
Porter said her favorite thing has been watching the students grow through the rehearsals, which started in January. While some of the students have been involved in drama club or classes for years, some were new to the program when they auditioned for the show. She said one of the students was an athlete who was torn between games and rehearsals, much like the main character in the play. The show features 52 students on stage, and the technical crew is also made up of students.
Her favorite part of the show is the big group numbers.
“We have some smaller roles so that is their time to shine,” Porter said. “I like the audition scene. The drama teacher character cracks me up.”
The rehearsals have been after school each day, and in the last week, the students just needed to rehearse with the band for the first time.
“The kids are working really hard,” Porter said. “We had planned to cast 40 students, but we had so much talent we didn’t want to turn anyone away.”
SBHS’s ‘High School Musical’
San Benito High School’s drama department will perform Disney’s “High School Musical,” March 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31, at 7 p.m., in the school’s auditorium. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the SBHS student payment center. Tickets are $8 for adults, $7 for students and senior citizens or $6 for SBHS students with an ASB card and children under 5. All tickets purchased at the door will be $8.
