Hey guys! The fall semester of my junior year is coming to a close. The past 4 months have been a whirlwind of odd jobs, a busy class schedule, and musicals. Thought at times it was tough, I wanted to reflect on why this was my favorite semester at Otterbein yet.
1) A Giant Pumpkin Costume, Group Fitness Classes, and The Democratic Presidential Debate
After summer break, I went directly into Chicago rehearsals. This meant that I had to find a way to support myself financially that did not interfere with my intense rehearsal schedule. It was a challenge, but I made it work! I returned to Melt Hot Fitness, doing the job that I’ve had since freshman year there. I dove back in to teaching barre at Melt once a week. On top of that, I started teaching cardio barre at Otterbein once a week. That’s about all I could commit to on a weekly basis with classes all day and rehearsals all night. I made a promise to myself to take on any little jobs that came my way throughout the semester in order to bring in extra cash. People always have told me about the famous “side hustling” that comes along with being a performer. Now I really respect the act of finding extra work. As of right now, my specialized “hustle” is literally committing to any random work I can find on campus if it fits into my free time. For this semester, that meant committing to Boo at the Zoo and volunteering at the Democratic Presidential Debate.
Thank you to Emma Shine for capturing this image of me stepping into the Spookily the Square Pumpkin for the first time.
Boo at the Zoo is an event that happens every fall at the Columbus Zoo. As a performer at the zoo this year, I rotated between performing in a pumpkin carving skit for young children, and dressing up in a pumpkin costume for a live reading of Spookley the Square Pumpkin. On weekend days when I had no rehearsals, I would go to the zoo and rotate between these activities every hour from about 10a-6p. Never in a million years did I think I would get paid to wear a pumpkin costume and read halloween books to kids. The best part of the job was getting to see all of the cute halloween costumes that kids would show up in. For anyone who wants a good time and some extra cash, I highly recommend doing any amusement park / zoo performance work you can find!
Working the at the Presidential Democratic Debate was the highlight of my semester. I spent the eve of the debate running the printer for CNN staff members (a group of kind, patient, organized, hardworking individuals) and observing the massive amounts of preparation required for a national television event. The day of the debate was magical to say the least! My friends and I put on our best debate attire, we went to a local tea shop for lunch, we then waited in line for like 5 hours, and finally made our way into the gym for a night that I will never forget.
2) Morning Dance, Beginner Piano, and Choreo 2
This was the first semester that I had a lot of freedom with creating my class schedule. Every Tuesday and Thursday I took Choreo and Piano back to back. Choreo challenged me to stop overthinking. I had 5 class periods to choreograph the entirety of “Loud” from Matilda the Musical. My natural tendency is to procrastinate when choreographing a piece, but I was forced to keep moving with only 5 rehearsals. I found a rhythm half way through the process and ended up having so much fun! My friends and I experimented with interesting lifts and ended up putting some of them in the final piece. Taking Piano gave me a chance to take a break from thinking about the shows I was in and to exercise my mind in a new way. I suggest taking a music class unrelated to your major if you are looking to add some spice to your life.
3) Chicago, Title of Show, and Fun Home
The majority of my semester was spent working on 3 wildly different shows. I started the year off as Go to Hell Kitty in Chicago. Melissa Lusher, Stella Kane, and Lori Kay Harvey, collaborated together to make wonderful and unique version of the musical. The best part of this show for me was getting to spend time with the other ensemble members. Onstage, we all went ham during the court room scene and the energy in Cowan was electric dancing the “Hot Honey Rag” with the entire cast onstage. My best friend, Marley Runk, served as the assistant director which was amazing because we got to walk to and from rehearsals together, and visit with one another during breaks. Thomas Martin’s costumes were FIRE. Performing in this musical was a great way to kick off the year.
Title of Show was the biggest challenge of everything I worked on. We spent a little over 2 hours working on the show every Tuesday and Thursday in MT Studio. The point of classroom projects at Otterbein is to push students out of their comfort zones and allow them to work in a focused rehearsal setting for an extended period of time. In this classroom project, I played Hunter, a role normally played by a male that we gender-bent. We spent 2 weeks on music and a large part of that time was used to figure out which parts of songs I would sing up the octave and which parts of songs I would sing down the octave. With the help of Lori Kay, our fabulous music director, and Dr. Keyona Willis, my voice teacher who literally is an angel sent from above, I managed to find a way to sing the traditionally male sung music in a way that felt comfortable. The comedic timing of the show was really hard to find because it required attention to detail, subtlety, and a deep understanding of New York City theater culture in the early 2000’s. Our director, Thom Warren, gave us an in depth dramaturgical run down of the many references mentioned throughout the show that we needed to know. He taught us to keep the energy up throughout the hour and a half 4 person show. This was tricky! Once we got the energy where it needed to be, Thom helped us to find levels so that the show wasn’t performed in one place, but that it grew. Not only did I discover the importance of finding moments to breath, slow down, start small, but I also learned how to root a comedy in truth, thanks to the guidance of Thom. This show explores the highs and lows of being a theater artist, and presents a writer and composer’s journey to Broadway in a hilarious, out-of-the-box, and heart felt way.
Last, but certainly not least, I got the opportunity to performer in Isabel Billinghurst’s Advanced Directing Project production of Fun Home. It was a 5 person cast with piano by our music director Spencer Stern. One actor played Bruce, and the rest of us rotated throughout the show. However we each had base characters that we played throughout the show, and mine was Medium Allison. It was my first time performing in the pit theater (a black box located in our school’s campus center). My brother flew from Chicago to watch our opening performance. This meant the world to me! Fun Home is a show that I could perform over and over again and never get tired of. I’m grateful I had the chance to do it with a group of lovely people!:)
Thanks for reading,
Hannah