Have you heard about the new spring musical coming to FOHI? As always with FOHI’s very own Wicdd Theater, they are planning for the ambitious and miraculous goal of putting together all that is needed to produce a musical.
Some of the requirements include learning countless songs and dance choreographies, making the sets and dozens of props from scratch, and entertaining an audience of teenagers. Now that last part is a struggle on its own especially, but every time I’ve gone to see their plays and musicals, their attention to detail and enthusiasm in their craft never goes unnoticed by anyone in the crowd.
I have graciously been provided the permission to share some background info about this spring’s upcoming musical called Freaky Friday and hope to collaborate with Wicdd more in the future.
I set up some questions to ask members in theater, and got input from Roxanna Soltero and Valerie Villa, who very perfectly answered and gave me a look into Wicdd and their upcoming chapter in FOHI’s theater history.
Let’s first start off with Roxanna’s interview (conducted by Aiden Smith).
Aiden Smith: So, you are?
Roxanna Soltero: I’m Roxanna.
AS: And you are in?
RS: I am in theater production.
AS: How has theater production been so far?
RS: … it’s been really fun so far; we’ve just finished learning the whole show Freaky Friday and are now performing and rehearsing it to perfection…
AS: What has been the best part you would say?
RS: The best part of theater production I think would be meeting new people. It’s really fun making new friends, it’s like a second family to me because I feel very comfortable in there.
AS: Any bad parts?
RS: …probably the bad rehearsal days, like the mental blocks of learning your script or not getting a dance right, but you always have people there to help you.
AS: Any very stressful parts?
RS: Stressful? Tech week. Tech week is a week of just running the show over and over again which will be very stressful.
AS: Any side jokes you and the rest of the crew have?
RS: Um… most inside jokes would be lines that we have in the show. There was a line in The Siren “surface” which was sign language, and our lead couldn’t get it, so we’d just yell out surface and she’d have to do the sign language of it. There’s also another part for the show Freaky Friday “shyeah” by Adam, which is one of his catchphrases that we make fun of.
AS: And then anything you’d like to add about the upcoming production?
RS: You should totally go see it, it’s on April 11 at 5pm and 12-13 at 7pm. Tickets are $10, and we’ve been working really hard on it so please come see the show.
AS: Alright, thank you.
Next is actor Valerie Villa, who plays an antagonist in the musical.
AS: How do you feel about the production so far?
Valerie Villa: I am extremely excited for the production to come together so the wonderful story and all our hard work can be shown.
AS: What has been the best/most fun part?
VV: The most fun part has to be all the time that we spend together. We get to do many fun things during rehearsals and in our down time. All the time together really allows us to strengthen the bond of our amazing theatre family.
AS: What has been the worst part?
VV: The worst part has been coming back to rehearsal after spring break. It's been very tiring for us, but we pull through since the result will be worth it.
AS: What’s a good inside joke/something funny that has happened?
VV: Something funny that has happened would be the time where the door handle of the girl's dressing room came off and we got locked in. It was just like we were in a television show.
AS: How stressful has this been?
VV: The production can be quite stressful at times when it comes to managing everything. Although with the wonderful cast, crew, and Ms.Mckev as an amazing support system, it can be easier and more enjoyable.
AS: Why should you come watch the musical?
VV: You should come watch the musical because it has many amazing people involved and it's quite different from past productions. Since it's based on a teen daughter switching bodies with her mom who's in her 40', they're gonna be living through something that's crazy for us to even imagine going through.
AS: Thank you so much to the two of them for giving me, and the rest of you reading, some insight into the upcoming show!
I do have some intel on 2 things about Freaky Friday. Firstly, Mr. Salas, beloved substitute teacher and former FOHI alumni, will be making an appearance in the show! Now I don’t know the role he is playing, but I’m sure he will do amazingly and step back into FOHI theater like he never left.
Along with that, McKev—the infamous and wonderful FOHI drama teacher—will be caked if they sell 500 tickets. Get to buying for all of your friends and family in order to see McKev suffer (I love you McKev but it is really hilarious when it happens).
So, to recap it all, Freaky Friday the musical is coming to FOHI’s very own auditorium on Thursday April 11th at 5pm, and Friday-Saturday April 12th-13th at 7pm. Tickets are available through any theater kid (they may even have some exclusive pins relating to the show left!) or right before the shows themselves.
I feel that I’m not the only one excited to see what’s next for Wicdd theater and wish them all the best during their upcoming shows! (Is it corny to say break a leg?)
Nico Carillo
Nico Carillo, Staff Writer
Nico likes to read, watch anime/shows, listen to music, and paint on their free time. They also like exploring their clothing style, spending time with stray cats, and collecting a heinous number of buttons. They don’t really know what write about for the newspaper, but they’re figuring it out :)