Beauty and the Beast - How The Woodlands Theatre Company Pulled It Off

By Mayukha Pelluri | January 26th, 2023

The Woodlands drama club had been planning and rehearsing intensely for their upcoming play, a production of Beauty and the Beast. Many students were looking forward to seeing the final product. But what was the process like for the cast?

For many students involved, it was their first time being cast in a live show. Many students played a part in the show, and even more auditioned. Auditions lasted for three days, and the cast was chosen a couple of days after that. “We didn’t get to pick our roles, the teachers did. And they did an excellent job with the casting,” says Katarina D’Souza, playing a villager, regarding the teacher’s selections.

The process of auditioning was daunting. There was a signup sheet posted for those interested in auditioning, and upwards of 70 students auditioned. They signed up for a specific day in three parts: a dance audition conducted in the drama and dance studio, an acting audition where they read a couple of lines of the play to a panel of evaluators (both of which took one hour) and lastly, auditionees sang a solo to complete the auditioning process. Mr. Lalonde and Mr. DeBeck were part of the judging panel, and the final cast selection was posted on the bulletin board of the dance studio. In other words, auditionees had to try out to be part of the play, rather than for a specific role.

Cast members putting on the magnificent production for the audience.

The chosen cast members were split into two groups, the village and the castle people, with different characters and songs featured in each group. Groups did not see each other because of their separate practice times, and only started rehearsing together until a month and a half passed, which was around the middle of October.

Rehearsals were very productive and each day followed a set schedule. The schedule was organized, starting from the beginning with Act 1 and slowly moving through the script. The cast did costume fittings, performed with the live orchestra, and completed full-act trial performances. As weeks flew by, rehearsals started to stretch longer and longer, from two to three hours. They even conducted rehearsals over the weekend, lasting six hours! Every day after school, the students worked incredibly hard and every rehearsal was worthwhile.

For example, the first day the cast and the band rehearsed together was during the second week of November. Before the two came together, each group was given a set of instructions on discipline to maintain a productive and positive atmosphere. Students were respectful, and when somebody made a mistake, it got corrected in a very lighthearted but genuine way. Students were very focused on their tasks, showing dedication to their roles each day.

Everyone playing a role in the play worked hard for months to put out a performance that audiences enjoyed. Performances took place on December 7, 8, and 9, and students who purchased tickets enjoyed watching the truly dedicated and passionate work of Beauty and the Beast by The Woodlands drama family!