Winding Down to Willy Wonka
Haleigh Jacobson
February 2, 2010 • Laura Lockwood
Filed under Uncategorized
The GJHS drama department’s next step with putting on “Willy Wonka” is to incorporate the school’s music department. The wind ensemble and orchestra combine to create the music that will add magic to the production.
When the pit was handed a 2-inch-thick packet of music to learn, a wave of panic and excitement swept through the room.
“When we first got the music, everyone was a little freaked out. But it’s been really fun to work on, and I can’t wait to see how it is incorporated with the play,” Clarissa Cooper, 10, said.
The pit has been practicing for several weeks now on the music, and holds rehearsals until 5 p.m. every Wednesday and Friday. Rehearsals will steadily increase in frequency and time spent on stage.
Jan. 22 was the first rehearsal where the music students went into the pit to rehearse along with the cast of “Willy Wonka.”
“It takes up a ton of time, and you’re sitting in a hole … but you’re wasting your time and sitting in a hole with your friends,” Jonathan Wright, 12, said.
Not only are the music students enjoying their participation by playing their instruments, they are helping with the special effects this year.
“The pit is a great way to be part of the show without being on stage,” Julie Kembel, 10, said.
Justin Whiteford, the GJHS drama teacher, spent his after-school time on Jan. 21 explaining to the pit the special effects that needed to be created.
The pit’s involvement also includes working on the lights, running the “bubble machine,” acting as rabid squirrels, throwing nuts and bits of fur at the audience, and making sound effects that will create the illusion of Wonka’s factory.
Whiteford emphasized how “important the pit is to the production. When the musicians and actors mesh well … that’s when it becomes magical.”
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