Beyond the Spotlight: The Sound of Music
by Kelleigh Stevenson
"My heart will be blessed with the sound of music; and I'll sing once more!"
- Sound of Music
West Perry High School’s spring musical, The Sound of Music, took the stage March 12-14, earning standing ovations at the end of almost every show. In light of it being The Sound of Music’s fiftieth anniversary, lead actors Paul Wagner and Jessica McNiven were under stress to put on the best show they could. Sitting down with Jessica McNiven, she shared some of her feelings about the task at hand.
Freshman Jessica McNiven shared her reaction to receiving the lead role in her first musical. “I was thrilled. I was a little nervous at first, but once show time came and Ryan (Stage Manager for the show) gave me a pep talk and Wyatt (One of McNiven’s co-stars) told me to ‘own the stage’- I was ready.”
She also shared that her previous experience in the fall play, The Outsiders, is what gave her the confidence to audition and give her all to the musical. Practices ran from January to shownight, ranging from two-nine hour days. With hours like that, the cast had plenty of time to get to know each other. Jessica was flustered when asked about her friendship with the cast, unable to grasp the proper words to describe how she felt. “We’re tighter than family. You get closer (in theater) than in other activities you can get the opportunity to experience.”
With her blood and stage family by her side, it’s obvious that the actress has stayed humble through her experience. She constantly praises her cast mates and shows her appreciation to the directors for giver her this opportunity.
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