I’ve never had more fun being a part of a Redbird Production than when I was in Grease.
Normally, when I join a musical I know that I won’t have fun until, maybe, the in-school dress rehearsal, even if that. (The dress rehearsal is our first showing of the musical; it consists of all costumes, makeup, lights, crew and the band.)
The nine weeks of rehearsals until that day are long and exhausting, full of criticisms to make the show better.
But this year I had fun every rehearsal, despite my prior disappointment.
The switch from playing Annie last year, who was in every scene, and Frenchy this year – the only Pink Lady without her own song – was hard to say the least. But I was patient with myself and put my trust in Raquel’s (the director) casting skills, persevering through rehearsals making sure to not let anyone know of my disappointment and sadness towards the role. And I’m so glad I stuck with my pink haired lady!
There is actually a very fine line between Annie and Frenchy. While Annie is childhood bubbly and angsty, Frenchy has a teenage bounce to her and is sassy. So I just had to change my accent and outlook towards every character. I was allowed to act more my age, and if I broke onstage (laughed) it was ok because that’s something Frenchy would do!
One of my friends who came to watch the show said to me, “It was hard seeing you be mean because I was thinking, that’s not Jackie!” This comment made me laugh because that was the hardest part about being Frenchy. She is the “nice one” of the Pink Ladies, but is still a Pink Lady for a reason, so I had to balance between the two.
Throughout my time in the musical, I learned so much about the importance of building relationships on mutual respect. Everyone is putting in effort, even if it’s going unnoticed.
There are so many parts and departments that make a musical run, so it’s important to thank people when you feel gratitude towards someone.
It’s important to ask questions.
It’s important to express myself when I feel uncomfortable.
It’s important to have different opinions.
As I reflect on the two months of being in Grease, I believe that because there were so many adults involved was one of the core reasons Grease was such a well-rounded production. More opinions = more people saying “that doesn’t look good, we need to fix that.” Having those adults is helpful when Raquel herself doesn’t have time to worry about touching up the little things.
Overall, Grease was a very well put together show, and the best last show I could ask for!
