Four students participate in All-State Production

Similar to how athletes can be nominated to an all-state team, in the theater world, there is an all-state musical production. Filled with the most talented musicians, actors and technicians, the all-state performance is produced by students. Four of them originate from DGN.

The performance this year was Cabaret, told through the eyes of an American who had just arrived in Berlin, Germany as the Nazis are rising to power. The main setting is in a nightclub called “Kit Kat Klub”. 

The unique part was each student had a different experience when it came to casting. For senior and banjo/guitar player Mandy McGinn, the company approached her. Therefore, she didn’t have to partake in the auditioning process and was already offered a spot in the pit orchestra.

Once a month practices for the show consisted of multiple 6-12 hour days of practice. In comparison to other shows McGinn has been in, this one stood out. 

“Cabaret was the most professional show I have been a part of. The range of our vocalists and actors, talent of our pit orchestra, and dedication of our crew are the factors that made this production truly incredible,” McGinn said. 

For senior actress Harley Blanchard, the auditioning process was nothing short of competitive. With limited spots available, she was surprised with receiving her role as a woman named Texas, one of the Kit Kat Klub girls. 

“I was in complete shock when I found out I had gotten a role. Honestly I was in shock when I found out I had gotten a callback,” Blanchard said. “At the beginning of the process I really did it more for the experience of auditioning and less because I thought I would actually make it.”

The show was performed four times starting Jan. 6 at Bolingbrook High School. The All-State performance is part of a larger event called Illinois High School Theatre Fest (IHSTF). The fest occurs annually alternating between host schools of Illinois State University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  This year, it was originally planned to be performed at ISU but because of COVID, they had to move it on short notice. At first, when Blanchard heard that the show was canceled at ISU, she had mixed emotions. 

“Of course I was disappointed that we couldn’t perform at ISU as planned but I was just happy we were able to perform and share our show with a live audience,” Blanchard said. “I think that this feeling of gratitude for a second chance to perform was shared by most of my cast and company members.”

Even still, the opening show at the new location was almost sold out. 

The bassist in the pit orchestra, senior Melissa Parkinson, has been pursuing this opportunity for a couple years now. She auditioned for Cabaret in late spring of 2020, but when the show was canceled, she opted to have her audition held back until the following year. Finally, she was able to perform this year along with her friends McGinn and Blanchard. 

Parkinson has had experience with performing before, this year’s show totals her sixth pit orchestra she has participated in over the course of her high school years. 

“Musically, it wasn’t the most challenging pit orchestra I’ve ever done, and Cabaret certainly covered some of the most mature topics I’ve ever performed, but I wouldn’t trade my experiences in it for anything,” Parkinson said.

Junior Vera Barlin was the Assistant Stage Manager for the production, helping piece the moving parts of the stage together. Her position is an advanced technical spot.

“I was in charge of blocking and cueing scene changes for stage right, supervising props and the overall right-wing,” Barlin said. “I initially interviewed to be on the crew in spring 2021. I started in build crew as everyone in the crew did and helped build the set for the first 5 months or so.”

With the benefit of Bolingbrook High School only a short 20 minutes away, friend and senior Madeline Riske went to the performance in support of Blanchard. She claims the musical could be the best high school production she has ever seen. 

“As I watched, I had to remind myself that students were producing every aspect of the show. From the acting to the pit band to tech, everything looked so effortless that I felt like I was watching a professional musical performance,” Riske said.

She has had experiences with theater before, being involved in some musicals at DGN herself. Still, she remains impressed with the students’ hard work. 

“I know much effort goes into putting on a show like this one, especially working against the challenges that COVID has placed on theater, and I could see that every student involved in this production was extremely talented and had put their all into the show,” Riske said.

With all of the varying factors to the musical, Cabaret ultimately turned out to be a great show.

“I would say the show was a huge success. Of course, all live theatre will have its bumps and hiccups, that’s what makes it so fun, but overall I believe we put our all into our show and did our absolute best,” Blanchard said.