Just a week ago, students from Lyric’s Thelma Gaylord Academy presented their first production of the new school year, GODSPELL, JR., at the Plaza Theatre. The show was a great success. One of the cast members, Kyra Williford, 13, wrote an essay for school about her experience in the show. We enjoyed Kyra’s essay so much, we thought we would let you read it, too. We’re thankful to be able to share the magic of musical theatre with the youth of Oklahoma.
“A Season in the Spotlight”
by Kyra Williford
For the past three months, I have been in the musical, “Godspell,” at Lyric Theatre. When I auditioned for it in August, I was super nervous. Even though I have been through this process several times, I still get the jitters. After I auditioned, I was relieved that I got it over with, but I was anxious to see the cast list.
In “Godspell,” there are three main leads: Jesus, Judas, and John the Baptist. The rest of the cast is just the ensemble or soloists in songs. After four days of waiting, my mom got the email with the cast list. I looked and was thrilled to see that I was cast with a solo in the song, “Light of the World.” Over the next three months, I was required to go to rehearsal two times a week for four hours each time (Tuesdays and Saturdays). At the first couple of rehearsals, we worked on music. We sat down with Kevin, the music director, and learned the songs. After the music rehearsals, we started choreographing the songs with our choreographer, Brian. Brian is also my ballet and tap teacher. (I could write another whole essay about him.)
Because I can tap dance, I was put in the tap number for the show. It was extremely fun to dance in! Now, not only did I have rehearsal on Tuesday and Saturday, I also had ballet and tap on Monday (from 4:30 to 8:30), piano lessons on Wednesday, and voice lessons on Thursday. After the many, many nights of rehearsal, tech week finally arrived. “What is tech week?” you might ask. It is a week of rehearsing on stage with all of the lights and microphones. Eventually, you run the whole show with costumes and the whole sha-bang. Tech rehearsal is EXTREMELY tedious. You arrive at the theater at 4:00 and don’t leave until 9:00, and that’s on a good night. By the end of the week, you’re completely exhausted but really excited to do the show.
The whole process really is magical. It’s crazy! Everything always comes together when you get your costumes on and step under the lights. The whole show was put together by our outstanding director, Stephen. He pushes us all for perfection, and that’s exactly the kind of director you want to have. Stephen won’t let you go out there until he gets what he wants. Some people would never spend their Saturday afternoons rehearsing for a show, but for some weird reason, I love doing it. Sometimes I start to get really tired and absolutely dread going to rehearsal, but I’m always glad I stuck with it because in the end, it all pays off. There’s no other feeling like soaking up all of the “good jobs” after the show. There is something about performing that I love. I can’t name just one thing. I just love it.
“Godspell” is the ninth musical that I’ve been in. I’ve made many friends at different theaters from different shows. It’s really cool because we all love doing the same thing. Performing is definitely my passion. I don’t think I could live without it.
