In a world where we are increasingly connected, the majority of teens feel even more disconnected to past generations. With new social climates and challenges, it can feel as though no one gets teens and their struggles, especially parents. And for parents, it’s as if they are constantly undermining and underestimating the pressure teens have in life. This is because the majority of parents think that because they have already got through it, it isn’t that hard.
This issue is seen in countless homes across the world, with it being a main point of struggle for millions of families, and this year’s musical ‘Freaky Friday’ brings this issue to the stage.
In “Freaky Friday,” the audience is introduced to a single mom (Katherine Blake played by senior Avari Geppert) who is on track to be married the next day. Who is constantly in conflict with her rebellious daughter (Ellie Blake played by senior Alexa Leiting). With their relationship being tense and filled with countless arguments and both sides feeling as though the other doesn’t properly comprehend what they’re going through.
This dynamic isn’t brand new to the cast members, with Leiting saying the story on stage was her life, “but amplified.” With little disagreements leading to her and her mom “butting heads.” However, this parallelism between the stage and her real life isn’t the only thing that makes this production unique compared to past productions she has been in. This was her first lead in a musical, which challenged her to learn how to “sing out,” something that has been, “totally different,” from any other past experiences she has ever had.
However, Leiting isn’t the only person that has found this production to be unique or more challenging than their past drama experiences. Geppert, also faced some challenges with this production.
According to Geppert, her time to learn the role was shorter than usual, saying that the show had a “really short turn-around time,” only having a month to put it together. But she faced this stressful situation head first. According to Geppert, “It turned me into a better actress.” Saying she had to, “push myself to make sure I knew everything on time.” Making it nearly impossible to “push stuff off,” if she wanted to bring the role to life.
Another unique dynamic that this show brings is the young cast. According to Leiting, “A lot of the seniors that would have gotten leads or an ensemble role graduated, so we had a very young cast.” Although a younger cast can commonly be seen as something that can make a production more challenging, both Leiting and Geppert said they see this as a potential positive.
“Having a younger cast helps bring depth to the show,” Geppert said. She said she believes that this younger cast “improves our future as a department,” and that giving them these opportunities and roles when they are younger, “sets them up to know what our department is like and helps give them a passion and a want to be a part of it.”
One of these young leads was Rugor Aden, who is a sophomore and plays Adam, Ellie’s love interest. For Aden, this is his first ever experience in drama. And although a lot of people would find such a big and new experience stressful, Aden describes this experience differently, saying that he “loves it,” saying he “[loved] the singing, dancing,” and felt he, “really connected with the directors.” And for the show itself, he describes it perfectly: “a fun show, where everyone can really connect and have a good laugh.”
