When rehearsing for the fall musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” senior Elise Bargman feels a sense of unity among the actors and looks forward to working with all of the cast members.

According to Bargman, the cast and crew embraces everyone and “The Drowsy Chaperone” provides the perfect backdrop for this atmosphere.

“I have been in theater before as part of the crew, but it was always really cliquey. I am really glad that I gave it a shot again this year because it has been a lot better and a lot more inclusive,” Bargman said. “It is a fun show and it really brings people together, the cast together and the rest of the company together.”

Theater director Jodi Hatzenbeller said rehearsals follow a weekly schedule.

“Usually we do vocal rehearsals on Mondays and Tuesdays where they learn the music with (vocal director John) Myszkowski,” Hatzenbeller said. “Once they’ve learned the songs, then on Wednesday and Friday they do the choreography and on Thursday I do the staging in between the choreography.”

Bargman said actors are making great progress on the fall musical and the weekly schedule is consistent.“We have done a read through, two days of singing practice, yesterday was stage directions, and today we are doing choreography,” Bargman said. “(Rehearsal) is usually pretty regular in the way that it is scheduled. We usually have two days of singing practice, two days of choreography practice, and then a day of staging.”

Hatzenbeller said she focuses on making actors comfortable in their characters.

“Our first step is delving into character and then figuring out where everybody is on stage for each scene or number,” Hatzenbeller said. “Then as we progress we’ll get further into the nuances of each performance.”

Bargman said she plays Mrs. Tottendale and eagerly anticipates working alongside her best friend, Thomas Bryant, who plays Mrs. Tottendale’s butler.

“My best friend is playing my butler so it is really fun,” Bargman said. “Getting to work with him and (figuring) out our characters and our characters’ dynamic is going to be really fun.”

Hatzenbeller said cast members are hardworking and talented.
“We have some really stand-out vocalists, both in the main roles and in the ensemble so vocally it’s going to be really strong,” Hatzenbeller said. “They are on top of it and eager to learn, which makes for a really strong production.”

Productions of “The Drowsy Chaperone” are scheduled for Nov. 11-13 and 18-20.