OLSH theater recently had their Fall play, The 39 Steps.The play entails secret spy organizations and includes many twists and turns. The participants in theatre put lots of hard work into their shows, with practices most days after school. Their determination definitely pays off. I interviewed two freshmen, Katarina Komoroski and Tori Pendzich to find out their opinion on OLSH theater.

Q: Why do you do theatre?

Kat.-  I love to sing and act. The experience is something I would recommend to anyone. Theater at OLSH is one big supporting family. We make people smile after each performance. 

Tori- I do theater to make people laugh and forget any hardships they are going through. I also really like acting because on stage you can be anything you want to be. Theater acts as my release from any problems I have.

Q: Do you do it for fun, or do you plan on pursuing acting or singing?

Kat.- I’ve actually considered acting or singing as a career in the past, but now I just enjoy doing it for fun.

Tori- I actually plan on taking acting as a minor in college as my major will be child psychology.

Q: What’s your favorite part about putting on a play?

Kat.- I love it when we mess up on lines, or something that goes wrong turns out to be really funny. I have made so many memories!

Tori- Looking out and seeing the radiant smiles on the audience members’ faces.

Q: What shows have you participated in? 

Kat.- In 6th grade, I was Young Simba in The Lion King Junior; in 7th grade I was Brave Girl #2 in Peter Pan Junior; in 8th grade I was Mona Lightfoot (Mayor’s wife) in Do You Wanna Dance?; and in The 39 Steps, I was Pilot #1, along with a variety of characters.

Tori- I have participated in The Lion King Junior, Peter Pan Junior, Do You Wanna Dance?, Xanadu, and The 39 Steps.

Q: Do you think you get enough credit compared to the other activities (like sports teams)?

Kat.- I feel that theater and sports are both respected, however sports are, in my opinion, more appreciated. 

Tori- I think we get as much credit as most other activities at OLSH.

Q: Do you prefer acting or singing?

Kat.- That’s a tough one. Though I believe I am a decent singer, I think I enjoy acting a little bit more. This is probably because I do forensics as well.

Tori-I really like doing both. I do a lot of singing in my free time.

Q: Do you listen to musicals outside of theatre programs? If so, which ones?

Kat.- Outside of the theater program, I listen to Percy Jackson the Musical (TLT).

Tori- Yes, I do. My favorites would include: Dear Evan Hansen, Be More Chill Heathers, Mean Girls, Percy Jackson, Hamilton, Beetlejuice, Death Note, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Smash, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Anastasia.

Q: Do you experience stage fright? If so, how do you combat it?

Kat.- Not really. Though I’m always super nervous when I’m auditioning. But when I perform, I’m absolutely fine. 

Tori -I think almost every actor does and the way I combat it is by doing some breathing exercises. The one I do the most is “breath in for 4 seconds…hold for 7 seconds…breath out for 8 seconds”.

Q: What’s your biggest theatre fail?

Kat.-My biggest theater fail: During tech week in 6th grade for the Lion King Jr when I was Young Simba, we were starting to run through “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”.While I was running into the scene, I was too close to one of the cast members as they were dancing. When the person threw their hands up, they ended up smacking me in the face really hard! The directors had to stop the number so I could get an ice pack and tissues ( I thought my nose was bleeding!). I was fine afterwards, but it was more funny than embarrassing! 

Tori- My biggest theater fail was when I missed my que for the grassland chant in 6th grade in The Lion King Junior.

This summer, Katarina and Tori will be traveling to Scotland with the OLSH theater program. They both put a lot of effort and time into making the shows seamless. Both of them are very excited, as this will be their first time out of the U.S. Come see Tori, Katarina, and the rest of the OLSH theater in Seussical: the Musical in the spring.