Directed and performed by students, but made for the entertainment of all, the Memorial theatre is putting on a Halloween-themed lip sync this week.
“The Curses of Whisper Hallows: A Lip Sync Musical” follows seven cursed students with different stories and having to break that curse at the town’s local festival.
“We came up with the theme with the directors the summer before school started,” theatre teacher Zach Jackson said. “For this year, because we do it in October, we thought Halloween would be cool. We haven’t done it before.”
Performances are Oct. 9-11 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium with the house opening at 6:30 p.m. so people can take their seats early. Each director picked their own song with famous ones like “Thriller,” “Somebody’s Watching Me,” “My Girlfriend is a Witch” and “Psycho Killer.”
“I’m doing ‘Somebody’s Watching Me’ by Rockwell featuring Michael Jackson and it’s one of the songs I always think of for Halloween,” senior director Koen Pruitt said. “When we were picking what theme we wanted to do, that was the exact song I knew I was going to pick.”
The lip sync musicals have been a tradition even before the new schools. It’s continued as a way to get people more involved with theatre at the beginning of the year.
“We have kids from band, choir, color guard and all the different organizations,” Jackson said. “The purpose is to build our group as best we can because anyone who auditions most likely gets a role.”
Each student director has their own reason for loving their role. Pruitt said the best part of directing was talking to his cast and running the rehearsals.
“I love bringing my vision to life and I really like putting my ideas and scenes together,” senior Daisy Johnson said. “I also like being able to work with people as well as give them an experience with lip sync.”
The theater department has been getting ready for this show during the past few weeks. The student directors are excited to have their cast perform for an audience and show off all their hard work.
“Hearing others laugh and have a good time makes me happy to hear them enjoying what I love to do most,” Johnson said. “I cannot wait to put on a great show.”
“THE CURSES OF WHISPER HALLOWS” PLAYLIST
(in order of occurrence)
“Psycho Killer” — directed by Daisy Johnson
“My Girlfriend is a Witch” — directed by Talon Aspinwall
“Man Eater” — directed by Elea Hoffman
“Cold, Cold, Cold” — directed by Miles Kintner
“Look What You Made Me Do” — directed by Maddie Graham
“Thriller” — directed by Sarah Elder and Jaydon Ramsden
“Somebody’s Watching Me” — directed by Koen Pruitt
“Things That Go Bump in the Night” — Finale
“Witch Doctor” — Finale
