From “On Wednesdays, we wear pink” to “Get in loser, we’re going shopping” to “She doesn’t even go here!” “Mean Girls” is one of our time’s most iconic and quoted movies.
In the first week of May, MN Drama is bringing this piece to life with a performance of “Mean Girls, the Musical”. With 46 actors and approximately 60 crew members and ‘techies’, a lot goes into a production of this size.
Since so many talented students are participating, selecting which musical best showcases their collective talent takes a lot of consideration.
“My assistants and I take a look at musicals that we haven’t done. [Focusing on] the ones we know will challenge us, whether it’s technical challenges, acting, or singing… we knew we had a good group that would be able to take on this production, and we hadn’t done it before,” director Michelle Williamson said.
This ensemble is jam-packed with talented actors ready to take on these contemporary challenges to produce the best show they can.
“I think it was a good choice because it’s more modern and it’s more relatable for people,” ensemble member Ellie Hill said.
As a more well-known, contemporary musical based on a popular movie, “Mean Girls” presents some interesting challenges for the actors. Audience members may come in with preconceived notions about the musical and may be expecting it to be performed a certain way, which creates additional pressure for the cast.
“A lot of people know the movie, and so that’s a challenge because [the actors] have a lot to live up to as far as acting and everything else vocally,” Williamson said.
Within these expectations, however, there is still room for the actors to make stylistic choices about how to present their characters to make them pop on stage.
Since the show has a wide range of vibrant and interesting characters, the actors can interpret their roles in many unique ways.
“I think there’s a lot of character choices that you can make in [the musical]. It’s a big show that’s up for interpretation, so you can really make it your own,” Alaina Bowden, who plays Karen, said.
Along with increased opportunities for character work, there is also extensive singing, dancing, and choreography, with around 15 different dance numbers throughout the show.
“I’m excited for the dancing because there’s a lot of big musical numbers… it’s a good show to do as an ensemble member because you’re so involved,” Hill said.
Another unique element of this show is the first-time use of projections for the set. Instead of using traditional, larger set pieces for the scenery, backgrounds will be set up using a projector and will allow for smoother transitions with fewer blackouts.
“We’re still using a lot of properties, hand props, and things like that, but as for big set construction, we’re replacing it with projections… We wanted to push ourselves, and it will help to show the setting,” Williamson said. “We hope [the audience] will see that we’re trying to change with the times. Hopefully, it will also help them [the audience members] to be able to immerse themselves in settings they couldn’t before.”
Using projections will help to explain and improve transitions during the musical’s drastic scenery shifts. For example, at the very beginning of “Mean Girls”, Kady is in Africa and then the setting quickly switches back to her high school in the United States.
Without using projectors, this scene change would be a lot harder to communicate to the audience. They’d need to create additional sets for Africa and switch these sets out shortly into the show, which could interrupt the flow of the musical and hinder the development of the storyline.
“There will be parts that aren’t as 3D as in the story, but [the audience will be able] to see things that they wouldn’t if we used actual [physical] scenery,” Jennifer Bonge, who plays Regina George, said.
Yet, while it has its advantages, projections bring a plethora of new challenges, especially for actors who have never interacted with them in the past.
“It’ll definitely be different because we haven’t done it before, so we’re going to have to figure out and learn how to still communicate the story throughout, but they did it in the Broadway production, so it’s not super out of the usual,” Bonge said.
In many ways, “Mean Girls” is a very different musical from any MN has attempted in the past. With its contemporary nature, increased choreography and dance numbers, and new use of projectors and technology, this show is a testament to MN’s growing theatrical capabilities.
“I think the biggest thing that makes it different is our viewpoint: since it is a more modern piece, we’re going to go 100% in that direction and utilize projections and use those kinds of things that we haven’t before… it’s a challenge, but I’m excited for it,” Williamson said.
Williamson hopes that the challenges they face will help the actors and crew members to grow their skills and allow for the show to shine, and the actors seem to readily agree.
“I’m just excited to showcase everyone’s talent. I think this is a show that really grows people as actors, and I’m so excited to show it,” Bowden said.