Timber Creek thespians are in full swing with the musical Violet coming just two weeks after the performance of the musical Hairspray, put on by the advanced musical theatre III class. Unlike past years, it was decided to do a third musical this year instead of having two traditional spoken dialogue plays. Another change was provided this year with the performance being in the winter season rather than in fall, which is when it typically is due to the availability of the PAC.
Violet will be on February 7th, 8th, and 9th at 7:00 pm with a 2:00 pm matinee on Saturday and is rated pg-13. The stage set up will be changed into a thrust stage, meaning the audience will be on three sides, this was an artistic choice due to wanting the audience to be close up because of the intimate nature of the show. Senior Samantha Fast plays the lead role, Violet, a young disfigured woman who sets off on a cross country bus trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma hoping a TV evangelist preacher can fix her with his touch. While on the journey, she unexpectedly learns about life and herself from a young black soldier. Fast has loved playing Violet because, “she’s a character that’s very easy to relate to.”
Auditions occured at the end of last school year in May. Students had to prepare a minute long part of a musical theatre song in the style of the show. Many talented actors auditioned but after call backs 16 were chosen. “The script called for certain ethnicities, so of course I wanted to honor that. When casting, I consider archetypes more than anything else,” said director Mr. Skiles. The cast has been hard at work rehearsing in class since the beginning of the year and after school rehearsals recently began.
Senior Andriel Aldarondo is casted as the Preacher and Leroy Evans and has loved creating close relationships with the rest of the ensemble. He’s found working with a thrust stage to be challenging but exciting, explaining, “Due to the audience being on stage, the sides of the stages are blocked off from the back stage so the actors aren’t really able to see what is happening on stage without being seen, so we have to rely on our ears to know when to come in.” As a result of the unique set up, there will only be 100 tickets per performance, which are selling out quick so purchase yours now at https://teachtix.com/tchs/violet.
The songs are a mix of styles such as bluegrass, gospel, rock n roll, and country. The show is about 2 hours long with a 15 minute intermission. “It is a smaller, more intimate show with a great story and amazing music. The audience can expect an awesome experience…as long as the cast and crew stay healthy. The flu has been rough on us.” said Skiles. You won’t want to miss this one!
