After months of practice, the GWMS Drama Club held its opening night performance on March 25th, 2022. Due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first production at GW in 2 years. Many students were excited to be able to perform and watch this show. To find out more about the inner workings of this production, I spoke to the orchestrator behind the performance, GW’s own Mrs. Medley. 

Laura Medley

Drama Club Director and Choral Music Director at GWMS

Q: Was there any specific process regarding the selection of the musical this year?

A: “I chose High School Musical, Jr. because we’re just coming off of the pandemic and we didn’t have a musical for a year so I wanted to choose something that was fun and upbeat and that a lot of students might have already known. That would have been relatively on the easier side just to make it the best-case scenario for all of the students who wanted to get involved to put on a successful performance. Something fun and upbeat after the pandemic.” 

Q: What’s your favorite part of running the drama club? 

A: “I love to see what it looks like at the beginning when we first start rehearsal,s and compare that to the final performances to see how much kids grow and gain confidence while performing on stage. It’s great to see how students become something more than themselves.”

Q: At the start of the year, did you believe you would be able to hold a musical?

A: “I wasn’t sure. Even when I announced the show in December, three was always that thought of ‘What if we aren’t able to do this?’ because of a flare-up in the pandemic. I was always nervous that we wouldn’t be able to do it, but we pulled it off.”

Q: What was it like having a school musical for the first time in two years?

A: “It felt so good. I really felt like we were missing something last year, and to be able to perform with a live audience and without masks (in reason) felt electrifying. There was so much energy behind the performance. Everybody was so excited about it. It was a slice of normalcy from the pre-pandemic.”

Q: Were there any complications caused by the pandemic regarding the musical?

A: “The majority of the kids who were in it had never been in a musical before because we didn’t have it last year, so it was really like we were starting from scratch. Usually, seventh and eighth graders kind of help out the sixth graders, but this year, it was new to both the sixth and seventh graders.”

Q: Are you pleased with how the show came out? 

A: “Oh my gosh, yes. It was fantastic. It was so good

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I also spoke to some of the lead roles to ask for their opinions on the musical. 

Nicholas Rovere

Troy Bolton

“It’s just like, I don’t know, it felt fun, like, being the lead. I’ve always liked performing since I was like in elementary school so it’s kind of just something that I’ve always like liked to do. As I’ve gotten older I’ve kind of been performing more and more, and it’s kind of just something I do naturally at this point. It was fun and exciting.”

Jalen Song

Chad Danforth

“It was a very fun experience, and if I could do it again i would. I also want to say thank you to Mrs. Medley for how hard she worked. I had a lot of fun.”

Furthermore, I spoke to some of the crew behind the production to see their thoughts and opinions.

Elena Rua

Spotlight Operator

“It was very fun to be part of the experience and to help out on this performance.” 

Overall, both the cast and crew really enjoyed the musical. As a stage crew member, this performance was undoubtedly one of the best school experiences I’ve ever had. It remains to be seen what other musical ideas will come next.