Powerful singing, dynamic performances, and very challenging solos were on display when the Drama Club hosted its auditions it upcoming MainStage production on Les Misérables this past On Wednesday, December 13th, just before ILS went on Christmas break.
Les Misérables— colloquially known as Les Mis— is a sung-through musical based on the 1862 Victor Hugo novel of the same name. It is the second longest-running musical in the world and is also considered to be one of the best musicals, if not the best, of all time. In summary, the musical follows the life of ex-convict Jean Valjean who seeks to redeem himself while being hunted for decades by ex-guard Javert. Knowing just how popular this show is, the stakes are high.
Auditions took place on the cafeteria stage, significant change since auditions are typically held inside the Black Box. Mrs. Lianne Rodriguez, Drama Club Director, was just as jittery about auditions as the students.
“I was a bit nervous going into auditions because the cast for this show is very specific,” Mrs. Rodriguez explained.
“You need strong voices and strong character actors. I was so excited afterward because everyone brought their best and it really allowed the casting team to visualize the potential of the show.”
— Mrs. Lianne Rodriguez, Drama Club Director
Aiding Mrs. Rodriguez with auditions was assistant director (and ILS alum) Torrens. Every student who auditioned was required to sing one minute, or 16 bars, of a song of their choice. The song could be from the show itself, or any other song the student would like to sing.
“My audition was pretty scary, but as soon as my voice and legs stopped shaking, I think I was on top of it. My song was ‘A Falcon In The Dive‘ from The Scarlet Pimpernel,” said junior Miguel Suarez-Cabal, who previously worked as both an actor and assistant stage manager for a handful of ILS productions, such as this past falls’ shows Little Shop of Horrors: A Musical Review and Little Women.
“I was super nervous about my audition because it was my last one at ILS, but I felt like I gave it my all and it was fun,” said senior Sebastian Debora, who has been acting in ILS productions since his sophomore year.
“I was really nervous for my audition, but with some deep breaths and feeling the atmosphere of the space, I calmed myself and went for it,” said sophomore Skyler Granado, who has diligently served the Drama Club since her freshman year, both on and off stage.
“In the end, I enjoyed myself and the experience,” she said.
The audition process for Drama Club productions takes two steps: Auditions, which has been covered in this article, and callbacks, which will be addressed in an article next week, so stay tuned.
