Hi Encore readers! I’m Hannah, one of this year’s Student Editors. You may have caught my interview with Susan Keady here on the blog a few weeks ago. I’m excited to share my “Encore Story” with you all! Keep reading to learn about my favorite shows, memories, and advice from my experiences at Encore.
I’ll start with where my adventure with Encore began. Way back in 2013, I auditioned for Encore’s musical for that year, The Little Mermaid. I was so nervous; it was my first time trying out for a show. I didn’t make it in that time around, but I made sure to come back the next year to audition again! This time it was for Cinderella. I had learned from what I did in the previous year’s audition and made sure I did my very best this time.
To my surprise, I made it in, and got the role of Citizen # 1! I was overjoyed to be part of my very first musical and had so much fun learning about theatre for the first time. I learned all about stage directions, blocking, and even had a solo at the top of Act 2! Although auditioning for the first time was scary, it was all worthwhile because it set me on the path for five years (and counting!) of awesome theatre experience with Encore.
Since then, I’ve been in 14 more Encore shows and have learned so much. I’ve done six shows on crew and eight on cast. Some of my favorite crew positions have been ASM (assistant stage manager), runner, and house manager. Some of my favorite cast roles were Scar in The Lion King Jr, Lavinia in A Little Princess, and Humpty Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland. I started out interested in musicals and singing and have now grown to love acting, dancing, and technical crew just as much!
In my hours of putting shows together, one of my favorite memories was when I was backstage crew last year during tech week for James and the Giant Peach. One of the props for the show was a “motorcycle” with a side car. The bike was actually automated and powered by an engine! This meant that when we transported the contraption from the tech shop to the theatre we got to ride it all the way there. It may have not been the most efficient way of travel but it was definitely the most fun!
Another of my favorite memories was doing Q&As as Scar during The Lion King Jr. For many of the shows, there would be a birthday party of kids coming to see the show. Before the show we would go out and sing and then the kids and their parents would ask questions. It was really fun to see the kids reactions when the whole cast would come out in costume. And being Scar, some of the very young kids would be quite scared to see me standing in front of them. Interacting with the audience, especially the younger viewers is one of my favorite things about theatre because you get to see how they enjoyed the performance.
My final favorite Encore memory was last year’s 50th Birthday Bash. I can’t believe Encore has existed for over three times my life-span. It was an amazing night because tons of people from all the different parts of Encore in one place. I also got to perform, as well as see pictures of the past 50 years of shows. Maybe I’ll be around for the 100th Birthday Bash, who knows? Though I’ve only been around for a small portion of Encore’s timeline I’ve developed so many lifelong memories!
After my experiences with auditioning for Encore and performing I have lots of advice to give for other students interested in theatre. My first piece of advice would be to be yourself! Theatre is all about expressing yourself and directors love to see your personality shine through when you audition.
My second piece of advice would be to follow directions. Whether it be for an audition or once you’re part of a show, the directing staff have a specific vision for the show and following their instructions makes things run much smoother.
My third and final piece of advice would be to have fun! Though there are difficult things about being a part of an ensemble, a very important thing is to enjoy yourself. Theatre should be an exciting way to express yourself and if you love theatre as much as I do all the hard work it totally worth it.
That’s it! Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you all next time.
Photos by Aileen Pangan Christian, Aimee Pangan, Andrea Smith, and Larry McClemons. Blog contribution by Hannah Knitting.