Over the span of more than 85 hours in the past two weeks, students have worked tirelessly to prepare for Carlmont’s upcoming musical, “Singin’ in the Rain.”
According to many of the students who took part in the musical, tech week was tiring, stressful, and long but also one of their favorite experiences of the year.
During tech week, the cast, crew, and orchestra rehearsed the musical. This was the first time that they rehearsed all together, and there were many bumps along the road. The process was long, and the estimated time of rehearsals was from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; however, they typically ran over time, limiting the students’ ability to complete homework and still get to sleep at a reasonable hour.
“The hardest part of tech week was figuring out how to balance the frequent rehearsals with schoolwork and sleep,” said Abby Wong, a sophomore in the cast.
Although managing schoolwork, tech week, and personal health can be a struggle, some teachers were accommodating to the schedule of tech week.
“There was a lot to juggle with tech week, but I found that a lot of my teachers were pretty understanding of the situation. Some had given me extensions for assignments or tests,” said Eli Wallow, a junior in the crew.
Teachers like Genevieve Tep, the choir teacher and the producer of the musical, gave free class periods to students for them to do other work. Along with the understanding of some teachers, members of the production found different ways to get their schoolwork done.
“Fortunately for tech, there were little breaks in between, so I did some of my schoolwork during those times,” said Lauren Wang, a senior in the crew. “Flex time also provided a huge help during the musical process.”
Other students not only faced the struggle of schoolwork but also had to make sacrifices regarding outside of school activities such as sports.
“I had to miss a lot of soccer practices to come to rehearsals. Even though I missed out on a lot, I don’t regret being in the musical at all. It felt good to be a part of something,” said Remington Vernon, a cellist in the pit orchestra.
Although many sacrifices were made to run the production, it’s commonly thought by students that they were all worth the experience.
“I feel like I’ve learned a lot of life lessons from Mr. Horn, and I’ve gained a lot of close relationships. I also feel like I’ve talked to a lot of people that I wouldn’t have typically talked to outside of tech,” Wang said.
Ultimately, tech week forced students to prioritize and consider what they value most.
“For me, being in the musical means making a ton of amazing memories and lots of new friends. Although it was exhausting, it was so much fun, and I bonded with so many people,” Wong said.
