Jenna Bacon, Campus Carrier arts and living editor
Thursday marks opening night for Berry College Theatre Company’s (BCTC) “Valkyries Cabaret.” The show is set to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at berry.edu/onstage and at the box office in Sisters Theatre preceding each showing. The show, themed “I Love You, I Do,” features various ensembles performing distinct musical numbers that celebrate the different ways love can manifest in one’s life.
According to junior Grace Lennox, a performer in the show, the rehearsal process for this show has looked a little different compared to some of the past shows BCTC has done. Since the performers are organized into groups, the majority of rehearsal time has been conducted separately within each ensemble. Dividing the show into separate ensembles allowed performers to select musical numbers that aligned with their interests and showcased their individual strengths.
In the weeks leading up to opening night, Lennox’s group has been rehearsing four to five times per week, demonstrating a strong commitment to preparation and performance. Each group has rehearsed with director Jennifer Bradford once or twice a week, giving her the opportunity to offer feedback on the development of their musical numbers.
“She just sees the bigger picture of everything,” Lennox said. “Bradford sees how everything works together and how everything should flow, and because of that, she just really helps us get to where we need to be.”
Lennox has a background as a dancer, so she was more than prepared to help choreograph her group’s performance.
“When I was thinking about choreography, I thought, ‘okay, I want everyone to have their own moment,’” Lennox said. “So I didn’t tell them exactly what to do. I gave them an idea, but I wanted them to have fun with it.”
While it sounds like the preparation process was smooth sailing for the most part, no performance is without its challenges. According to senior theatre major Amerial Page, there will be at least one musical number that includes the entire cast. With 30 people in the cast, it can be difficult to coordinate everyone’s movements.
“I personally must increase my spatial awareness by a lot,” Page said. “I have to gear my mind to play multiple characters throughout the show and convey that through song. I’ve always been more of a straight play performer, so this adjustment has been a true journey for me.”
While performers work hard to shine bright on stage, there are many wonderful crew members working behind the scenes to ensure actors and actresses look their best.
Senior Nancy Daniel is the head of the wardrobe for this production. Daniel is responsible for ensuring that each actor’s costume is washed, dried, steamed and neatly hung in the dressing room with the appropriate name tag attached. For the cabaret, the cast members will be dressed in mostly black clothing with pops of color representative of the song they’ll perform.
Actors Molly Merk and Lyla Carroll rehearse their musical number
With a theme like love, the show naturally invites a range of interpretations and emotional responses from the audience. Daniel shared her thoughts on the theme.
“I really like the theme because it is about how to show love,” Daniel said. “It’s not always about the happier sides of love; it’s a lot of falling in love, realizing you’re in love, complicated love, happy love, sad love and all the different types of love.”
The love the audience will see on stage isn’t just for the show. Many members of BCTC share real-life friendships.
“I feel like one of the easiest parts of this process has been bonding with the cast outside of rehearsal,” Page said. “They are always very open and very friendly. I feel like this bond we’ve created helps us unite more on stage.”
The ability to portray and even evoke intense emotion through musical theatre is a remarkable artistic achievement. Daniel praises the performers in this production.
“They’re not just up there singing,” Daniel said. “They’re in there and playing a character, carrying these emotions and carrying these back stories. And even though you don’t see all of that, you can kind of feel it through them being there on the stage.”
Pick up a Visual and Performing Arts brochure to see what other performances you can expect from BCTC, the Berry College Dance Company, and arts.