Theater is frequently imagined as a curtain falling before a cast of characters who act before a large, applauding audience. There is moving dialogue, lights that dance on the stage’s surface, actors running through the animated decor. From January 14 to January 16, auditions were held to bring “Six” to life, playing a role in the musical’s birth and later development.
“Nobody has an advantage,” Theater Director Mrs. Madeleine Sherratt said. “I love auditions because it really is like the beginning of possibility and I get to start putting together [ideas] in my mind, connecting the pieces between what I’ve envisioned and what I have at my disposal. Listening to someone do a really good vocal audition and going, ‘Oh my gosh I have the person in my head who they’re gonna play!’ That’s really exciting because it’s the first step in seeing the musical come together.”
For “Six,” in addition to three days of workshop that prepared auditioners for their audition, three more days were allocated for the musical’s tryouts. About 36 auditioners attended the tryouts, auditioning to become one of the six lead characters, or for an ensemble role. Participants needed to showcase their best efforts if they wanted to be a part of “Six,” as there were a total of around 26 available spots.
“I do not have as many spots in a show as I have people who are auditioning and that is always the hardest part,” Sherratt said. “Whenever we see low audition numbers, we get excited because we’re going to have a higher percentage of people who audition be cast in the show. Whenever I see high numbers, I get sad because I know that there are gonna be a lot of people who don’t get cast in the show.”
The first day of tryouts began with viewing all the auditioner’s choreography to the featured song, “Get down.” They were examined in groups of threes and fours, with one group being examined at a time. Auditioners followed the same dance with extra steps or moves to enhance the choreography’s intended story. One particular student who added several unique moves, Tarin Ladhawala (10) danced passionately, and was met with unanimous praise for her energy from both peers and directors.
“Dance is a very large passion of mine so just to have that ability to share that with the world of theater was just exhilarating,” Ladhawala said.
And while auditions are competitive, that isn’t to say that it wasn’t friendly; some auditioners such as Madison Garcia (12) and Dania Nasreldeen (12) had practiced together in preparation for the final days of tryout’s subject of singing.
“At the end of the day, we all still love each other no matter who gets what,” Garcia said. “We’re just there to help support each other through the whole entire process because we understand how nerve-racking it can be.”
The last two days of auditioning were dedicated to singing. Unlike the prior day which limited dancers to the choreography of “Get down,” auditioners were given the freedom to impress directors with their song of choice.
“During the audition with the song that you chose to sing, you don’t really get to add choreography to it. It’s just you sing the song and show the best of your vocal abilities,” Garcia said.
A week following the auditions, a cast was set.
Catherine of Aragon: Annika Pangilinan (10)
Anne Boleyn: Leah Ines (11)
Jane Seymour: Maddie Lubangco (11)
Anne of Cleves: Michaela Allen (12)
Katherine Howard: Madison Garcia
Catherine Parr: Lily Scaumann (12)
Ensemble: Isabelle Angeles (10), Dania Nasreldeen, Brooklyn Arteaga (11), Brielle Pangan (10), Cheryl Chung (12), Shaelah Respico-Reyes (10), Karissa Guzman (10), Valentina Rodriguez (12), Cam Haddad (12), Ryleigh Romo (10), Alexandra Stoica (12), James Lam (12), Nathan Tan (10), Kyra Lau (10), Chloe Utterback (10), Amber Lin (10), Rigby Wright (12), Luna Maciel (10)
With the high anticipation associated with “Six,” people interested in attending can mark their calendars for April 3 to April 5.
