INTO THE WOODS: Chapter 3: Acting Rehearsals

Hi! I am Jack with my best friend, Milky White, to talk about the magical process of creating this musical! 

In the beginning, all of us characters needed to be developed and created by the students themselves. In order to do this, all students participated in a drawing activity to better understand the characters. First, students looked through over 30 fairytale books to get ideas and inspiration for our characters. Performers wanted to explore their characters' personalities, motivations, passions, and goals. Once the students had formed the concept of their character, they created visual representations of their characters.   

While some students had been cast as specific characters in the musical, members of the ensemble had more freedom to explore and create different characters, outside the confines of the musical script. From these characters, students began the creation process of their own skits. Students needed to work in groups to create plots, write lines, and practice their acting skills as a team. As audience members, you will be greeted by the enchanted characters created by our amazing ensemble, setting the stage for the Into the Woods, Jr. production! Some characters were even incorporated into the show itself, such as the Baker’s loyal cat, Puss in Boots. 

The woods that Milky White and I live in wouldn’t be as magical without the enchanting trees and squirrels. It is through the hard work of our ensemble that these trees and squirrels were brought to life, creating the fairytale atmosphere. It is not an easy feat to do. While acting as a tree or a squirrel may seem like a simple endeavor, it is probably one of the most difficult acting challenges. Performers have to shape their bodies into difficult forms to mimic the enchanted beings they are expressing. Students have to use their expressions and movement to engage with the scene but not detract from the action at hand. These trees and squirrels are on stage for a longer amount of time without rest. It is impressive the amount of dedication and effort being a tree and squirrel requires. I am grateful for these creatures and beings to make these woods truly magical. 

Thank you to all the hard work from all students. Because of their effort, I, Jack, was brought to life as well as so many other magical characters. We hope you enjoy the show!