Morton East’s Mean Girls musical is coming up, performing March 20th-23rd. Tickets range from $5 for students to $10 for adults with senior citizens and children under the age of 10 gaining free entry.
According to Wikipedia, the Mean Girls musical is a rock musical based off the book, Mean Girls, by Tina Fey. The lyrics were written by Nell Benjamin and music by Jeff Richmond. This musical made its world premiere at the National Theater in Washington D.C. on October 31st, 2017. Google AI states that due to the musical’s popularity and it being licensed for high school productions, a very large number of schools have produced a Mean Girls musical. Morton East’s production of the Mean Girls musical is being directed by theater teacher Tyler Lubinus. The Pony Express News got to speak to him regarding the musical and theater in general:
“How do you decide what your shows will be based on?”
“It really changes every year. It depends on what I feel would be a good fit for the theater students to perform. It is sometimes based on their own interests as well. I also like to give variety, so it’s not the same type of show over and over again.”
“Is there a limit to how long the shows are?”
“There isn’t a limit. I generally don’t want a show that’s only 50 minutes long, but I also don’t want a show that goes on for three hours. 2.5 hours always feels like the maximum amount of time for me, and an hour feels like the minimum, but it’s not a strict rule.”
“When does the production of the set start? How long does it take?”
“It started in January, and it usually takes up until we’re going to perform. The finishing touches usually happen in the last week. Producing usually takes a couple of months.”
“Do you have technical difficulties, wardrobe malfunctions, or other problems during a show? How do you overcome that?”
“We have technical difficulties every show. Something goes wrong because it’s theater, and it’s high school theater, which means the students run almost everything. And so, of course, something goes wrong every single show. We have issues with the mics because they’re very sensitive technology, and issues with the lights flickering or issues with the prop breaking or a set not moving the way it was supposed to every single time. And, you know, everyone is trained to accept that the mistake happened and to keep going and be flexible.”
“When do you decide on dates for the performances?”
“So, it’s not just me; there are a lot of factors within the administration and the district and other events that go on that we have to coordinate. All those have to fall under a certain time. This show has changed. I wanted it to be done before spring break, and the reason for that is we’re hoping to do a showcase after spring break. We want to do a showcase, and in order to have the time to do that, this show’s got to get finished. Normally, we would do it after spring break, but we changed it so we could have more time for the showcase.”
“When producing, do you change anything or try to keep it the same? Such as different songs, lines, etc.”
“This show is interesting because they gave us alternate choices for some of the stuff that felt more mature, because this is Mean Girls’ high school edition technically, but we made some alterations that were allowed. I, on the whole, kept this almost entirely the same. I feel as though this show reflects teenagers’ lives and how they speak, and we’re going to have a lot of warnings about profanity and mature content, but I think that I have a very mature group of actors who can handle this material.”
“What do you look for when casting someone for a role?”
“It comes down to three basic qualities: technique, which means I can understand you, you have good volume, and you speak clearly. Or, if it’s music, you can hit these notes. The second is your creativity, so you’re making interesting character choices, you bring something interesting to the role and to the character, and you can think outside the box and really think for yourself, so I’m not giving you everything. And the last one is professionalism. It is a difficult task, so it requires a lot of maturity and professionalism. If someone has demonstrated they can’t handle that sort of responsibility, it doesn’t help them with their casting, but if someone has demonstrated that they’re great with all that stuff, they’re more likely to get a large role.”
“Do you have backups for the main cast?”
“There are a few people who know I’m going to be calling on them. We don’t have official understudies for the show. We did for the last show. So, an understudy is a person who is trained to step in if that person is unable to do the performance for whatever reason. So, for this show, I have had a few people that I’ve talked to about being prepared in case something happens, but nothing’s official.”
“Have you cast someone who had no experience? Was it a struggle to teach them?”
“I cast people with no experience all the time—usually, at least once a show. For multiple people, it’s their first show. That’s just the joy of doing high school theater: it is always someone’s first play that they’ve ever been in. And I do not want to think of it as a struggle, really. I think a lot of times those are the very people who have the most energy and are most excited about trying something new. So no, it’s not a struggle. Do they need to be taught some theater terminology, and do they need different assistance than other people? Yeah, but that’s part of the fun of doing educational theater: everyone is learning, and no one is ready to go. Everyone needs time to work.”
“During practice, what do you focus on? Is it different each day?”
“It is different each day. Musicals are interesting because they get sectioned out from scene work, which is running through the scenes and working on acting choices, and then there’s the music, which is when they go up to room 200 and are in there working with Mr. Cervantes and Mr. May our vocal directors, on just the music itself. We’re not working on the scenes, and there are also choreography days. We’re just working on the dancing, and then, as the show gets closer, they all mix together. It’s always interesting for me because with the plays, it’s just me and my assistant director, Ms. Farrell, and we’re the only ones running it. And then, with the musical, a lot of people come together to make it happen.”
“Have you ever had to drop someone from their role? Why?”
“Yes, very, very rarely have I had to drop someone from the role. The only times I’ve ever had to do it are because they can’t handle the commitment. It’s a huge time commitment, and it’s not for everyone, and I understand that, and I respect that, but sometimes if there are other things going on, both those things won’t work. And one time, it was for behavior.”
Make sure to go see the musical and support Morton East’s theater!
