IE Theatre Club: BIRTH OF A MUSICAL
This year, the Theatre Club is innovating. You will have the chance to enjoy an original musical! Last month the main auditions were held in the Aula Magna with a total of approximately 45 participants. The students came up with a lot of talent, motivation and emotion to the delight of the casting directors.
The judges state that they think a musical would bring more interest, deeper emotion and dynamism: “I believe that music creates a very special energy, that conveys emotions that words and acting can’t express” explained Timo Rigaudeau, the head and writer of the play. That is why the judges were looking for actors, dancers and singers who could express themselves as much as possible and were able to overcome their fears and doubts. “I personally expected from each auditionee, to let go of all thoughts, and get full in their character’s world” mentioned Ghali Laraqui, the co-head of the club and co-writer of the play. Their ultimate goal was to have people that would show them the best scene they can. They were also looking for qualities like commitment, capacity to learn during short timing, and to manage pressure. The choreographer, Daniela Gil, mentioned: ”my hopes were, most importantly, to see them very committed to the choreography.”
Even though the casting directors had very high expectations, the students managed to reach them. According to Daniela Gil, the dancers were in fact very passionate and creative. She states she was happy to see different types of dancing styles and people that wouldn’t freeze in front of judges and keep with the choreography. Regarding the actors auditions, Ghali and Timo were “[positively] surprised” with what they saw during the auditions and believe that all the actors can and will get better.
The judges could assure you, that after these auditions, choosing the right person for the right role is not an easy task. As a matter of fact, their job is to allocate people’s variety of talents based on the specification required by each role. Timo Rigaudeau described the main issue:
”Sometimes, some people’s material selves, abilities and attitudes perfectly matched the role, but other times, we doubted and had to debate the pros and cons of each decision.” And other times, professionalism and personal life meet up: they have to deal with friends or people from their daily routine that come auditioning. Being impartial and judging everybody on the same criteria is often hard when emotions get involved. “My decisions have to be focused exclusively on what is good for the play,” pointed out Daniela Gil.
In the end, they all claimed that they were happy with the decisions and consider their choices to be the best ones for the cast. This year's cast will be composed of 32 students, who are ready to start this long journey to produce a creative and striking musical that the community will not forget!
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