The world of musical theatre is a deeply competitive one, with skills needed in dancing, singing, acting and even tap dancing if somebody really wants a chance to get a starring role. The question many may ask is how these skills are gained, or what a cast member would do if they were not specialized in one of these tough abilities. Experienced actors in this year’s musical, Newsies, were asked questions related to this dilemma presented to most beginners. Senior Cole Harbak, who plays Pulitzer, said “I think that all I need to improve on is just getting my lines down, because I haven’t really practiced those, but I am going to really practice those this week. I also think that I have improved with learning to play new and different characters since I started in theater, because before I did theater, I never did act of any sort. But I personally think that what I had to improve, I did, in singing, acting and dancing. I also think that when I started in theater that I have just gotten new skills down and met a lot of new people.”

Of course, there are more examples than just the club president. A similar path is being followed by GPs very own Les, Freshman Mikayla Gaffney, who said, “For the musical, I’ve been working on my tap. I’ve improved in so many ways, especially with my dancing because I’m not a dancer, I’m more of a mover. Since it’s a very dance heavy show, it’s been nice to practice. I have a lot of people around me who can help me improve my skills.”

Every member of the cast, from those known for the acting to those known more for dancing, gain lots of practice from the musical experience. “I definitely improved on tapping,” Sophomore Sage Touchette, actor for Elmer and JoJo, said. “It was difficult at first for me, but I caught on fast because I’m a really good dancer. Yeah, I’m excited to do our big tap number in Newsies, and I hope a lot of people see it.”

There are overall deep connections between an actor’s abilities and working in an actual production, especially with something like Newsies that is deeply foundational in dancing especially. In the end, it truly goes to show that being an actor doesn’t take too many natural skills and, if one wants to start, all it takes is the courage to audition and the determination to improve.