Activity #11

Performing as a Page Playmaker, 2014 and 2015

December 2013-April 2014; December 2014-March 2015

250 hrs 

Creativity & Action (250 hrs) 

Outcome 1 was easily achieved in the 2015 musical, ‘Mary Poppins,’ because it was my second musical, so had more experience under my belt than I did when going into the 2014 musical, ‘In The Heights.’ I achieved Outcome 2 because unlike the 2014 musical, I earned a named role in the 2015 musical. This was a completely new challenge for me. Because this was a musical performed by the drama club, the Page Playmakers, this activity qualifies for Outcomes 3 & 4. Being a part of the musical is a commitment that requires attendance at every rehearsal, which gave me Outcome 5.  Outcome 7 was reached when I had to consider the discretion of the audience when performing. Outcome 8 came when I was given the role of Robertson Ay. I did not audition for that part, but at least I got a part. It was a new challenge for me.

Acting and singing were both things I did not do before my junior year. Sure, I sang in the car and the shower all the time, but I had in no way ever acted before. I went to see my school’s musical, “Legally Blonde” my sophomore year, and loved it. I really enjoyed seeing my fellow peers take on different characters, and really become those people, all while singing. I never knew some of them could sing, and I thought I wasn’t a bad singer myself, but I had never sung in front of anybody before. Nevertheless, junior year I took on the challenge of auditioning for the musical. Called “In The Heights,” it was unknown to me and everyone else, but only because it was a relatively new musical. It was about a group of Latin Americans living in New York City, and I auditioned for the lead role, a guy named Usnavi. It was one of the most terrifying moments of my life standing in front of my friends on stage singing. I sang Maroon 5’s “This Love,” and was surprised with an uproar of cheers from the audience when I was done. I din’t think I was that good. I ended up not getting a part at all, probably because my dancing and acting skills were lacking. I was still excited to ben in the ensemble, however. I was a good sport about it, unlike a bunch of other guys who thought that part should have been theirs. The musical was a fun experience, for I met new people and saw some people really come out of their shells. The performances went generally well, but we were all more excited to find out what next year’s musical would be. 

Here I am in “In The Heights”: 

I found out that the 2015 musical would be Mary Poppins, and auditioned for Bert, the chimney sweep. I did not get that part, instead I got Robertson Ay, the Banks’ house boy. I was excited I got a part, and went to great lengths to make sure I was as successful at being Robertson Ay as I could. The performances turned out excellent. I felt accomplished when the audience sang along with me and Mary Poppins and the Banks’ to “Spoonful of Sugar,” a classic song from the original Disney movie. We knew we had gotten it right when we could see the young children in the audience dancing with us during “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” The performances were everything we could hope for, and we became better people from it. The rehearsals were lengthy and grueling, but we made it through and knocked it out of the park! 

Here I am as Robertson Ay in “Mary Poppins”: