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S2 E8 - A Christmas Carol - Behind the Scenes · Inside the OSD

• 0:11
  SPEAKER1: Today we are at the Oregon High School Performing Arts Center to get a behind the scenes look at the upcoming production of A Christmas Carol.
• 0:19
  We're talking with director Marsha Heuer, along with a few cast members.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER2: Welcome to this episode of Inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids.
• 0:30
  Here is your host.
• 0:32
  Lifelong educator and our superintendent, Dr.
• 0:35
  Leslie Bergstrom.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER1: Thanks for having us today.
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  I know that rehearsals are in full swing.
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  We can hear them in the background and we're excited to hear how it's been going.
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  So could you start by introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about your role at OHS and with this production?
• 0:54
  Absolutely.
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  SPEAKER3: My name is Marsha Heuer and I'm a social studies teacher here at the high school.
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  But I am directing A Christmas Carol this fall and it's been a lot of fun.
• 1:03
  This is my second year in the district, but my 17th year overall as an educator.
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  SPEAKER1: And this is definitely one of many, many shows that you've been involved in.
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  SPEAKER3: Yes, I've been directing for well over a decade and many, many shows are under my belt.
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  And this is definitely one that's been on my bucket list, because I actually was involved in A Christmas Carol growing up as a child.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER1: Oh, nice. Well, we know that a production of this nature is an incredible undertaking.
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  So what's involved in getting ready for opening night?
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  SPEAKER3: Oh my gosh, what isn't involved?
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  I feel like that's -- there's so much.
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  Obviously we've been rehearsing for the past two months, but even before then we've been planning.
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  I've been working a lot with Mike Ducett, who also directs here, and he's been here for obviously a long time.
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  So he is kind of taking over as my producer and set designer for this show.
• 1:49
  We've been working extensively with costumes, so this last week in the grind, it's really about putting all of those things together.
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  It's getting the kids on stage, but also getting the sound effects and the lighting and adding costumes and props, and then me changing things because it
• 2:03
  doesn't necessarily look the way it was supposed to, or, you know, something has happened and, you know, remembering our lines and, and everything like that.
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  So there's just there's so much that goes into this last week of rehearsal that make it both really stressful and also really, really, really fun.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER1: That is incredible to think about all of the work you do and how much of it comes down to those last few days, making sure it all happens.
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  So most of us are familiar with the story of A Christmas Carol, but without giving anything away, what would you say is special about this particular
• 2:36
  production?
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  SPEAKER3: Well, I think we've kind of stayed to the traditional aspect of what A Christmas Carol is all about.
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  Of course, it follows Ebenezer Scrooge.
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  It's set in the 1800s.
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  We didn't really put it to a particular year, although Dickens wrote it for 1843.
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  But Scrooge is miserly, he's really greedy, and he's visited by a former business partner, Marley.
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  And Marley informs him that he'll be visited by three ghosts that kind of share with him his past, his present, and what his future might look like if he
• 3:06
  doesn't change his ways.
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  SPEAKER1: All right, so one thing I've always admired about our productions - they're really pretty fabulous - is the involvement of students in every single aspect.
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  So can you talk about some of the roles in addition to the performers on stage?
• 3:21
  SPEAKER3: Absolutely. So we have, I think, 50 high school students.
• 3:24
  We have ten students that are not in high school that are younger than high school, whether it's middle school, elementary or even a four year old in this
• 3:32
  production. But outside of this performers, we have eight different musicians who are playing music before the show, during intermission, and even during the
• 3:40
  show. I've added a lot of music.
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  Even though this is a play.
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  How can you have a Christmas story without Christmas carols to help with the transitions?
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  In addition to those, we have, Gosh, I don't know, probably 20 to 30 tech students working on sound lights.
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  They've been doing props costumes.
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  So we're we're close to 100 students involved in this production.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER1: That is so fabulous.
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  So let's talk about logistics.
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  When are the performances and how can families and community members get tickets?
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  SPEAKER3: So the performances - we have for this year, it's going to be Friday, November 10th at 7:30 p.m..
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  We have a double header on Saturday the 11th at 2 p.m.
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  and 7:30 p.m.
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  and then we close up with our matinee on Sunday, November 12th at 2 p.m..
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  Wonderful. They can go to the Oregon Performing Arts Center website to buy tickets.
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  Yeah.
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  SPEAKER1: All right. Thanks for taking a few minutes to talk with us today.
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  And just to set the context for everyone, we have some of our high school cast members in the room, along with one cast member who is four years old and will
• 4:42
  be starting for next year.
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  But I don't think he's interested in talking to us.
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  So for the other three of you who are here, can you please start by introducing yourself, your year in school and the character you play?
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  SPEAKER4: I'm Tristan Jackson, I'm a senior this year and I play Marley and also the Ghost of Christmas Future.
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  SPEAKER1: Thank you.
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  SPEAKER5: I'm Calvin Sulima, I'm a junior this year and I'm playing Ebenezer Scrooge.
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  SPEAKER6: My name is Claire Johnson.
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  I'm a junior this year, and I play Mrs.
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  Cratchit.
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  SPEAKER1: Thank you. What made each of you decide to get involved in A Christmas Carol?
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  SPEAKER4: I just want more experience.
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  I love the experience of theater, and I love the whole, like, building a show up and really seeing it grow with other people.
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  And I think it's just like a magical experience to do.
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  SPEAKER1: Two months worth of experience.
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  It's a really big undertaking.
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  Yeah. How about you?
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  SPEAKER5: I've been into acting since I was like a little child.
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  Really? So it's been like a hobby of mine.
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  I haven't been able to do it since for a while, until high school, and I really wanted to try challenging myself by going for the lead role this year, and I
• 5:48
  think I -
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  SPEAKER1: You went for it and you got it.
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  All right. Good for you.
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  How about you, Claire?
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  SPEAKER6: I've been in, like, every theater production that has ever had.
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  Oh, really? It's just because I just love theater.
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  And most of most of the reason I love theater.
• 6:00
  And I don't want to speak for everybody.
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  But I think most of the reason that other people love theater is because of the friends that you have and the experience that you have with them during the
• 6:08
  making of the show.
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  SPEAKER1: Very nice.
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  All right, so tell us about rehearsals and how they've been going so far.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER4: They've been pretty good.
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  We're kind of in the stage of like, it's really transferring over and all the hard work is like paying off and it's coming into fruition.
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  We just started practicing with costumes yesterday, so we're getting to see everyone's costumes and how they're dressed for the show, and it's really cool.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER1: Does it feel different when you're saying the lines to somebody in costume?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER4: A lot more powerful, yeah.
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  And you feel like your character a lot more.
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  SPEAKER1: That makes sense.
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  How about you two?
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  SPEAKER5: Yeah, I think rehearsals are going pretty well.
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  I think a lot of the people who are new to high school theater are really getting like an experience of what that's like because, like, some of them were
• 6:54
  involved in, like, the middle school Shrek the Musical.
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  Yes, yes, definitely a big tone shift going from middle school to high school.
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  And I think they're adjusting to that.
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  SPEAKER1: Well, I think just your sound equipment is so incredible here that even that alone would be a giant adjustment.
• 7:08
  Right. All that stuff.
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  Oh, I don't think I understand it, but I appreciate it.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER6: I think that during - especially during these weeks right before tech week, we were really it's like, I don't want to say this like it's in the worst before it
• 7:23
  gets better stage where things are finally like, we're like figuring things out.
• 7:27
  But once we do, it'll just make the show so, so, so much better.
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  SPEAKER1: That is exciting.
• 7:33
  Okay, so what's been your favorite part?
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  So my favorites always makes it hard, right?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER6: I would say my favorite part is I am thinking about going into like work with children, and I have a bunch of children at
• 7:50
  my heel because, oh that's right.
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  Yes.
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  SPEAKER1: Makes sense.
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  SPEAKER6: Gives an insight of like how that will actually happen in the future.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER1: Well, no. Your children in your classroom someday.
• 8:00
  Okay.
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  SPEAKER4: I had to learn how to walk on drywall stilts for this.
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  Oh, my. So --And that took a couple days, but I think that was it's pretty comfortable now.
• 8:10
  And I really it was really fun to do it and it's fun to be on them.
• 8:14
  So yeah.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER1: I suppose the ghosts of the future is really, really tall, right?
• 8:19
  Is that what it is? Okay.
• 8:20
  Wow.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER5: I think my favorite part has been getting to like, act with people I've never got to do scenes with before.
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  Like some of my best friends are.
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  The show I never got to, like, grate act with them.
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  And now I have, like, scenes, like full scenes with these people.
• 8:34
  And I also really liked assembling the drywall stills with Tristan.
• 8:38
  Yeah, that was our task that one day.
• 8:39
  Yeah.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER7: What would you
• 8:41
  SPEAKER1: say to other students who see this show and aspire to get involved in future productions?
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  SPEAKER6: Just do it.
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  SPEAKER7: Just do it like it's so fun.
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  It's really the
• 8:51
  SPEAKER6: thing that I think deters a lot of students is like the time commitment and the conditioning.
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  I think if you really want to do it, just give it a try.
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  There's no downside to doing it, in my opinion at least.
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  SPEAKER1: Yeah. Very nice.
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  SPEAKER4: It's a great way to spend like all the time that you can after school.
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  And it's you meet a lot of people that you wouldn't have met otherwise.
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  Like a lot of my friends that I know I just wouldn't even know existed if not for theater.
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  Excellent.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER5: It's a great way to find your people.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER1: Yeah. Oh, I love that.
• 9:23
  So, for the seniors, what does it mean for you to be a part of this show?
• 9:28
  SPEAKER4: It's it's pretty cool.
• 9:30
  Um, I think it's there's not a lot of us.
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  There's only like, 5 or 6 of us in this show.
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  Really?
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  SPEAKER1: Okay.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER4: Um, but it's really nice to sort of lead by example and just, like, try to - try to
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  help others as we go.
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  Um, and it's just, it's fun.
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  I don't know, it's, it's, it's the same, but it's really different because it's like the last play that you get to do and then you're gone.
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  SPEAKER7: Oh yeah.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER1: Oh yeah. All right.
• 10:04
  So why should our listeners and community members get tickets to A Christmas Carol?
• 10:10
  SPEAKER4: Because it's cool.
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  SPEAKER7: That's pretty great. I think a
• 10:14
  SPEAKER6: lot of the students here are putting a lot of hard work, and I think the hard work definitely will pay off.
• 10:19
  I think this show is going to be so good and you should definitely come see it.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER5: Very nice. Get your tickets fast though because they're going out quick.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER7: Are they?
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  SPEAKER1: Oh, that's great to know.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER5: So many relatives
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  SPEAKER7: coming
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  SPEAKER5: I've never seen.
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  SPEAKER1: So your family is responsible for a good part of that?
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  I love it.
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  SPEAKER7: My family members are
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  SPEAKER5: getting tickets for multiple
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  SPEAKER7: nights.
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  SPEAKER1: That's great, that's great.
• 10:38
  And now, before we conclude, we do have our future 4K student, Theodore, who is young Scrooge.
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  Young Scrooge, would you like to say hello?
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  SPEAKER8: To who?
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  SPEAKER1: Anybody listening.
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  Just say hello.
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  SPEAKER7: Hello, hello.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER1: He's going to be great.
• 10:56
  Thanks to our listeners for tuning in this week.
• 10:59
  A Christmas Carol performances are November 10th, 11th, and 12th at the Oregon High School Performing Arts Center.
• 11:07
  You can get your tickets online at OregonPerformingArtsCenter.com.
• 11:14
  Remember that you can find links to all episodes of inside the OSD and submit topic ideas on our website at OregonSD.Org/
• 11:23
  podcast. You can find this podcast anywhere you can find podcasts.
• 11:28
  Make sure to subscribe if you're listening on one of these apps to get notifications on the most recent episodes.
• 11:34
  We'll see you next time on inside the OSD where it's all about the kids.