As rehearsals ramp up for the upcoming production of Mean Girls: The Musical, students and directors are putting in long hours to bring the iconic story to life. Behind the costumes and sharp one-liners, cast members say the experience has already been full of growth, nerves, and unexpected surprises.
For many performers, stepping on stage takes preparation beyond memorizing lines. Senior Adam O’Brochta explained that getting into character requires blocking out everything else.
“It’s really different getting on that stage and seeing all the different people,” O’Brochta said. “Personally, I block out all of my outside life stuff and only think about the show, and it really gets me into character.”
Live theater also comes with its challenges. Mistakes can happen at any moment, but the cast is learning to stay calm under pressure
“Typically, how I handle it is I’ll wait a second, like if someone else messed up, if they can pick it back up, or if I can think of a way to pick it back up,” O’Brochta said. “And then if nothing is fixed, I’ll typically say something and improvise to get us back on track.”
Director Mrs. Eden Bywater said one audition in particular stood out this year. Freshman Kristian Taylor surprised her with natural talent beyond her years.
“Kristian Taylor, the freshman, and surprisingly, I was not expecting her acting skills,” Bywater said. “She was very much a natural coming in there. And she was so young, so that kind of surprised me the most.”
For Taylor, auditioning for the musical was partly about proving herself after a previous disappointment.
“The fact that I wasn’t able to get into the fall play, so I just did it because Mrs. Barfield said I would be good to be the principal,” she said.
Now cast in a major role, Taylor is focused on developing her character.
“I’m looking forward to just developing an actual character with my character because it is a grown man and I’m a 14-year-old girl,” she said.
Other senior Sayde Tyra also shared advice for anyone nervous about auditioning.
“For me, at first, I was too nervous, and I didn’t think I would really even be interested in it,” Tyra said. “I feel like you just need to force yourself to do it because it’s very easy to overthink.”
The HHS Spotlight Players plan to perform the musical in early May.
