“Not hunching your shoulders to make yourself small,” said Lola Winchell as she sang her heart out to her solo in the song Fearless from Mean Girls Jr. Lola Winchell has been practicing her solo every day she has been able to at rehearsal. Cannon Quade said that Lola has done amazing every time she has sung it.
The Cannon Falls Middle School/High School is currently rehearsing and working on their fall musical Mean Girls Jr. The musical has many middle schoolers including five 8th graders, five seventh graders, and seven 6th graders. This musical is being directed by Annie Pederson, and helping Annie put this together is assistant director Cannon Quade. This is the fourth show Cannon has done as one of the directors.
Amanda McDonald is in sixth grade this year and Amanda says “My experience has been really good so far.” Amanda McDonald has been in theater for less than a year. This is her first show and she said that she needs to improve on listening for her cues. Tucker Nobach is in 7th grade this year and has done three shows and this is his second year doing theater. Tucker said, “My experience has been great, it has helped me make new friends and join other activities like speech.” Tucker said that he needs to improve on his singing and some choreography. When asked if there is anything they need to work on as a whole cast Tucker said they need to work on “Being kind and respectful to fellow castmates.” Kinzley Rezac is in eighth grade this year and has been in 6 productions. This is her third year. She says “My experience has been ok. I would like it to be more hands-on and be wanted to be there always but yeah it’s pretty good.” Kinzley said they need to improve on “Staying off our phones and being respectful to everyone.”
As far as how the directors feel, director Annie Pederson stated “We had twelve seniors who graduated, so there are some big shoes to fill. I’m very optimistic about the upcoming group of middle schoolers in theater. I have noticed lots of talent and dedication in that age group.” Assistant director Cannon Quade said “As a whole, I think the middle schoolers need to work on their “stray voltage.” If they can rein themselves in and use that time and energy that they use being off task and use it towards what is going on in practice, it would help all of them change their best.” Both directors said they think the show is coming together well. Cannon thinks the middle schoolers are incredible and that “The difference from last year is that they are coachable, which is one of the hardest traits for most middle schoolers to have.”
Overall the middle schoolers are working very hard to pull this show together, they are growing as actors and having fun.They have been working very hard to make sure this is one of the best shows yet. They are trying their hardest to make sure this show is great and they have fun.
