IE Theatre Club is Back with a Musical!
After the success of their theatrical piece last year, the IE Theatre Club is back at it this year with a musical. If you have been to The Cave during the past few weeks, you might have seen the poster for the event hanging there. You might have also caught a glimpse of the trailer playing on the screens all around the university campus. By the time you read this article, you have probably even received a Facebook invite to watch the show. All of this to advertise that The Painter is set for this upcoming Wednesday at 18:30 in the Aula Magna.
The idea of creating a musical started last year. It came out of the notion that there were musical components incorporated in the original screenplay that the club developed for The Rose and The Lion last year, that seemed to fit the piece very well. Writing this year’s production as a musical seemed to be, then, the logical step to follow for the Theatre Club.
“Last year, we included some musical elements in the show and I really liked it. Around February or March, I was like 'You know what? Why don’t we do a musical next year? I think it would be cool and the project, although it might be more difficult to write, could be more interesting, more attractive.'” says Timo Rigaudeau, a third-year BBA-BIR student, the man behind the idea, and the director of the play this spring.
Egor Kas, member of the Club since last year, elaborated more on the project, claiming the piece was a way in which the club could take on a challenge that could pave the way for more ambitious projects in the future. “We started theatre and we wanted to carry it on in university life. The musical part came because we thought about integrating many more aspects to it, such as music and dance. Last year acting was kind of our start, our beginning, and we thought if we can do this, we can do more.”
As the idea grew and took form, the Theatre Club started to look at methods that could bring to life the different components of the production. It casted students and members of the IE community, some of whom are doing this for the first time. It then trained them to improve their singing and acting skills. A lot of work also went into the development of a choreography by student Daniela Gil and into the search for proper costume and set creation. At the end, all these pieces are assembled together during the script-writing and eventually brought to life in rehearsals.
“Doing a musical is always much harder because it is the work from before, yet multiplied. You have to focus not only on the acting, but of course also on the dancing and singing as well. When you have a play with just acting, normally whenever you rehearse the scenes, they are what they are, but when it is a musical, you have to do things separately. You have to dissect it. You have to do the songs, you have to do the acting and then to put it all together. To become one coherent whole is a huge challenge.” tell Saina Abdollahzade and Nicole Limpo, members of the club since last year.
For a project of such magnitude, two fundamental elements are important: collaboration and dedication. Timo reports that part of the script-writing for this year was a collaboration between students Gabrielle Isa, Daniela Gil, Salvador Braedt, Ghali Laraqui, and IE University professor Paloma Martinez Velasco.
“I had written the plot summary and the production team liked it, so I developed that summary. Also, I was at the same time in contact with Paloma Martinez, who is a professor here at IE. She really helped me with the script. It was a lot of feedback, not only from her [but also from the students]. These people had an influence on the script I wrote in the end.”
Furthermore, Timo told The Stork that the music in The Painter will be completely original, written between him and second-year student Gabrielle Isa, who is also a member of the music club.
Another important component is the dedication all members developed. Both newcomers and previous members displayed towards the project high levels of excitement, which transformed into dedication as time went by.
Sabrina, a newcomer into the Theatre Club, was very excited about joining the team and took this opportunity as a way to push her boundaries.“Last year, I came, I saw the play and I fell in love; I thought it was amazing. Right after the play, I talked to Timo, who is the director and told him ‘Timo, next year I will be a part of this’ and now I am! I met new people and I learned a lot from them. I just went out of my comfort zone. It was very interesting for me. I don't regret it at all.”
The same feeling was displayed by another newcomer, Othmane Ghellab. As someone who did theatre back in Morocco, he was eager and excited at the prospect of keeping up with his passion as he undergoes his studies at IE University. “I was impressed because it was really well organized, always really structured. People carrying the light, people carrying the set up, people carrying how we should work… I think it is really import
ant [to give] thanks to the production team, Timo, Ghali, Egor, and all the people that were within.”
In conclusion, this piece, with the club’s passion for theatre, with the high level of excitement from every member involved, with the professionalism behind the production, will deliver a must-see to all viewers. Daniela Gil, the choreographer for the musical, said it best: “You have to get them [tickets]. This is something completely new. This is a whole new experience for IE as an institution and for IE students. Normally, you have the Dance Club, the Singing Club, and the Acting Club in Madrid, but right now you have the possibility to watch everything combined in a single night and if you haven't gotten it, you need to right now.” Clear out your agenda for the IE Theatre Club performance and get your tickets now at https://clubs.ie.edu/ieutheatre/rsvp_boot?id=300020372