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The Undercurrent is a biweekly news feature show written and produced by students from Michigan State University. Each episode explores multiple stories surrounding one central theme.
From WDBM East Lansing, this is the Undercurrent, a biweekly news feature show produced by students at Michigan State University showcasing our own student stories. Let's dive in. Hi there, and welcome to the Undercurrent. You are listening to season fifteen episode six, and I am your host, Anna Yarnall. Have you been yawning, stretching, trying to come to life?
Speaker 1:Well, tumble out of bed, stumble to the kitchen, and pour yourself a cup of ambition because Michigan State's Department of Theater is presenting the hit Broadway musical, Nine to Five. The show was directed by Adam Yankovi and music directed by Dave Wendelberger, and it is running February the twenty third in the Fairchild Theatre at the MSU Auditorium Building. And today, I get the chance to sit with three lovely people from the cast. Joining me in the studio are Reese Martin, Jamie Petrona, and Mandy Marsili. So first off, thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker 1:I would love for you all to introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit more about your time at Michigan State and who you are playing in this production.
Speaker 2:Hi. My name is Reese. I am playing Dora Lee in Nine to Five this semester, which is super exciting. I'm a senior. I'm a VFA acting major with a musical theater minor.
Speaker 3:Hi. I am Jamie Petrona. I am a senior marketing major and a musical theater minor. For nine to five, I am in the ensemble, and I play a multitude of characters. I play Tinsworthy, the security guard, a cop, and I'm also co dance captain.
Speaker 4:Hi. I'm Mandy. I play Missy Hart, the wife, and I'm in the ensemble. I'm a senior BFA acting major with a minor musical theater.
Speaker 1:Amazing. So to start us off without giving too much away, can you tell us what nine to five is all about? Yes.
Speaker 2:So Nine to Five is basically the story of three women who work in an office together and how their boss mistreats them and just women in general in the place. So the story is about what they dream of doing to him to get back at him, and then what they actually do, and how they change the workplace for the better. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Yeah. But it's told as a musical. Well, yes. With lots of fun dance numbers.
Speaker 2:And there's some sequins too. There's some sparkle. And some cowboy hats in there.
Speaker 3:And some tap shoes.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Oh, that's so fun.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:And it's based off of the nine to five movie. Correct?
Speaker 4:Yes.
Speaker 5:Yes.
Speaker 1:Okay. Amazing. So take us back to the initial audition.
Speaker 4:How did that go for you guys and what was the process like and the callback process like? Yeah. The audition was in November. So it's been a hot minute. Before this audition, we just had to prepare a song in the style of the show, which is pop with a tad of country into it.
Speaker 4:So it was a little challenging just because when you think of a musical theater audition, you think, okay, musical theater song. Mhmm. But it's like, oh no, pop. And you're like, yes. Okay.
Speaker 4:Mhmm. So I asked all of my friends who are obsessed with country to give me their best and their favorite country artists who are also in the pop genre and so I just stalked for months.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:I just stalked their music. So my Spotify rap was quite messed up but that's okay. What
Speaker 1:did you end up singing?
Speaker 4:The Road Less Traveled by an artist I do not remember.
Speaker 1:How did it go for you guys?
Speaker 3:I I loved it. I sing a song from the Footloose musical because I think just kind of with how I am as an actor, I like to do songs that are still from musicals so that I can fully portray a character in something like a 32 bar cut, which is like roughly a minute. So I sing a little dancey dance song from Footloose, and Fully only took like two or three days to prepare it. Nine to Five was the only show I auditioned for for this season. And I just made sure it was really kind of what I wanted to present to the two directors, and it was.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Whoever gave me the Footloose idea is really smart.
Speaker 2:Footloose is a good choice.
Speaker 5:It was Mandy. Mandy did a good job. Good.
Speaker 2:Rhys, what about you? Yeah. Like Mandy said, it it was hard finding a song that wasn't musical theater unless you were going directly for Judy, who is one of the three main women. She sings this get out and stay out classic musical theater, I want ballad songs. So I feel like a lot of people want the musical theater route Mhmm.
Speaker 2:To go for that role. But I had it in my mind that you had to do a country song, which apparently was wrong. So I kinda put myself through a little bit of hell for that. But I ended up singing Not Ready to Make Nice by The Chicks. My friend Andrew, actually, I was texting with him and I was like, I have no idea what to sing.
Speaker 2:I hate country music. I don't know even where to start. And that was like the first thing that popped into his head and it ended up being perfect. That was so fun. And the callback process was really fun too, especially because Adam, who's the director, he like, within the callbacks he wrote for each scene, like, this is what I want to be portrayed in this scene.
Speaker 2:Or, like, I want to see more of the dynamic relationship between Violet and Judy or whoever. And that was so helpful, like, going in and knowing what he was looking for. Because sometimes, it just feels like a shot in the dark. You're like, you you have no idea what the director's looking for. So was nice to have a little bit of direction.
Speaker 2:And the dance callback was so much fun.
Speaker 4:It was
Speaker 3:so fun. It was a lot of fun. We actually, the three of us, were all in a show together
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:During callback time, and so we only had an hour to learn both of the dance callbacks.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow. And everybody else got so much more time. Yeah. So it was it was stressful, but it was so fun, and the choreographers were doing a really, really great job.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:There are some fun big dance numbers, so that's always fun for the audience to watch too.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That's awesome. And the choreographers are students. Correct? Yes.
Speaker 1:Amazing. That's so fun. So you all are in rehearsals from six to ten most nights of the week. What does the typical rehearsal look like for you guys? Can you
Speaker 3:walk us through it? I'm not sure we have a typical rehearsal. We started with music rehearsals for a while where it was six to ten just straight learning songs. And then kind of we had like five rehearsals, five, six rehearsals like that. And then it completely switched over to choreography rehearsals from pretty much six to ten.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. And we're just kind of called if we're in a specific number or in a specific scene when we do blocking. And thankfully, now that we have a show, everything is put together. There's something in every scene. Thank goodness.
Speaker 3:So it's just like, from here on out, it's just gonna be running the show until we bleed, I guess. I don't know.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of untypical, at least in my experience here, to have a show completely, like, blocked and ready by the designer run, but also before tech. Mhmm. So now it's just we have a lot of time to clean it.
Speaker 4:And there's so much technical effects and technical aspects of the show. There's flying, there's projections. So tech is gonna be crazy, but it's really nice to have a show that we can polish and work on and a lot of structure. So that way when we get into tech, we're not rushing to figure out blocking and what lines are where and who's shifting what, which isn't always I mean, theater is so unpredictable. So it's really nice to have a show done basically.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I feel like everyone we're really lucky with the people who are cast in this show. Like, everybody is really excited about it. Mhmm. And like, you can just tell that everybody really wanted to be in it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And all of the leads, I feel like, are really on on it Mhmm. This everybody knows their There's a lot of intimacy and fight stuff in this show. So that's probably been the hardest part to clean because it's so particular. Yeah. But like, other than that, like Brooke, Olivia, Nick, like, Matt, like, all of these people, like, they really know Jordan.
Speaker 2:Their
Speaker 4:Stack cast. Yeah. Stack cast
Speaker 1:for sure. So can you walk us through what does the show start to look like when you get into tech? What does that tech weekend look like for
Speaker 4:you guys?
Speaker 5:Long. Long. Yeah. Long.
Speaker 3:We normally start with the q to q Mhmm. Which is just kind of we run the show, and it normally takes a couple hours, a good couple of hours.
Speaker 4:So nine to seven. Yeah. 9AM to seven.
Speaker 3:We just run the show, and we stop when they need to fix or adjust any kind of technical aspect, whether that's lighting, sound, microphones, scene changes, projections.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It's usually every couple seconds that they change, especially for this show because it's it's such a huge production. Like, usually big dance numbers, big ensemble comes with pretty big design elements as well. So I feel like tech is gonna be pretty pretty rough. But like Mandy was saying, it's so nice that we feel solid about the show itself and everybody in it, so we don't have to worry about like, so and so, I really hope he gets that queue line so that those lights come on.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. You know? It's nice that I don't feel like we're really gonna have to worry about that. Mhmm. But yeah, queue to queue will probably take a very long time.
Speaker 2:But hopefully, like, we have two days of like long tech days. So hopefully, we'll do Q2Q the first day. And then the second day, we'll get to like run the show or like stumble through the show a little bit.
Speaker 4:Mhmm. Tech is for the designers and the technical aspects and sometimes as actors, if you don't have a show fully blocked, it can be like hard because you want, you know, tech to have their time. Mhmm. But you also are like, when are we gonna do this? So it's nice to be like, okay, tech.
Speaker 4:Okay, designers. Like, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Take your time.
Speaker 4:Take your time. Do what you need to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah. For sure. And how long have you guys been in rehearsals before you go into the tech side of things?
Speaker 3:This one is a much quicker process. We have a lot less time than really any other show I've been a part of here. We've had what, three weeks?
Speaker 4:Three weeks, I think, up to now. Yeah. Four, I think, technically. Four, including December. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:Because we had a week of rehearsals before break. But I feel like that was like a whole separate thing. Like, was all music rehearsals, so like, it was like part of the musical theater process anyway. But it was like so long ago that it feels like a totally separate thing.
Speaker 3:Totally. Like a workshop almost.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:What are you guys most excited for with
Speaker 4:this show? I think when I say like, oh yeah, nine to five, like the department's doing nine to five, I'm in nine to five, everyone's like, oh, the song. Like, yes. And they sing it and we're like, yes, Dolly. Mhmm.
Speaker 4:And so I think it's gonna be exciting for people who don't know the movie or who do know the movie to see it in action and to see a movie that was done in the eighties done now in Mhmm. In 2025. There's a lot of similar themes that people face today and I think it will be really cool to see the audience's reaction to it to such an iconic storyline today. So, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4:I'm excited to see it on its feet.
Speaker 3:I'm excited to dance. I love to dance. That is my favorite part. I'm excited for everyone to see all of the amazing dances we have in the show. We have the privilege of having three choreographers.
Speaker 3:And I was just talking to one yesterday about how with the structure of this show, it almost benefits having three different choreographers because this show is a fever dream. There's stuff that comes out of left field that doesn't fit with, like, the rest of the show, but does fit in some weird way.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And it it helps having three choreographers because it's you can tell that, like, that choreography does not match the choreography they did in the last scene because it shouldn't. Yeah. You know, this scene we're in an office, and then the next scene we're somewhat of a spoiler, we're in the magical forest.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. I feel like I don't even know. I'm I'm so excited just to like put the show on. Like people know this show really well, which we haven't done a show at MSU in a while that people like know already before they look it up. Like, Throne Awakening is popular amongst theater people, but it's not popular amongst the general public.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So and that one is a very, very, very, very different story.
Speaker 4:Just a tad.
Speaker 2:Very different theme. Much like darker, and I love Spring Awakening to death. That was one of my favorite shows I've ever done. But Nine to Five is something that people in East Lansing people in Michigan will come to Mhmm. Already because it's just fun and I'm excited about that.
Speaker 2:And there are a lot of moments in the show that I think are just really genuine. And like, it is such a cheesy musical. But like, at the heart of it, it really is a story that needs to be told. And like, women are still trying to find equality in the workplace now. And especially with everything that's going on in the world right now, I think this is just a great time to put on a show that has a little bit of hope in it.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Definitely.
Speaker 1:I love that. Do you guys have a favorite number to perform? One of the boys.
Speaker 3:One of the boys?
Speaker 4:It's hard. I still have to clean it a lot, Jamie
Speaker 2:is good. Jamie Jamie is a
Speaker 4:daddy captain.
Speaker 2:Jamie could do one man show. No. Here he is.
Speaker 4:She's like, well, I've been waiting for someone to say that. No. I literally look at Jamie. I'm like, okay, Jamie. Like, let's go over this one sequence that we've gone over 80 times one more time.
Speaker 4:But yeah. No. I love one of the boys. Just such like a fun number. It's the first number in act two.
Speaker 3:Yeah. It's a great way to start act two off.
Speaker 4:And it's just a great moment for the character of Violet, and it's just a fun costume, a fun time, a fun number, lots of energy. And I think it's gonna look really cool.
Speaker 3:My favorite part of One of the Boys is there's this giant dance break, and I pretty much the entire cast is on stage for this number. Like, almost there's like maybe two people.
Speaker 5:Cedrice. But
Speaker 3:there's this giant dance break, and it was one of the things we had to learn for the audition. So it's the one part that, like, everyone gets the most excited for because it's the part that everyone knows. Yes. And it's just the energy in that room. We rehearse in this tiny little room in the basement of the auditorium, and those tap shoes just echo.
Speaker 3:And those poor the poor directors sitting in front of us are it's so loud. Mhmm.
Speaker 4:And there's only six people wearing tap shoes.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And it's still so loud.
Speaker 2:So loud. Show secret right there. So true. I don't even know. I I love watching the big dance numbers because I'm not really in them.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I love watching one of the boys and nine to five is really fun because there are just so many pieces and parts to it. And I just love an opening number. I'm such a sucker for the opening number of any show because it usually has everyone in it and everybody is so excited to start the show. For me, performing, I really love I Just Might. It always makes me cry.
Speaker 2:Like, it's just such a, like, beautiful I'm just a sucker for a ballad also. I just love a ballad and me, Brooke and Olivia get to do these, like, three part harmonies in it that I just really love doing. Mhmm. And I get to be with my my little husband Michael, so.
Speaker 1:Love that. So Mandy, you mentioned that someone is going to be flying during the show and I also heard that there's going to be a lot of wigs.
Speaker 3:Oh,
Speaker 1:god. So can you tell us a little bit more about that?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So there is some flying in the show, which means that someone will have a harness and will be lifted up in the air. So we have training for that. It will be Do I say who it is?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Sure. So no. Oh. Who said no?
Speaker 4:I thought you said
Speaker 5:no. Please
Speaker 1:tell us who is it.
Speaker 4:Please. My my dear husband, mister Franklin Hart, will be lifted up in the air. So he will be going through that flying process as well as the understudy.
Speaker 2:He's actually training for it tonight.
Speaker 4:Training for it tonight. So that's Nick Torres and Zachary Barker. So that's really exciting. And we're gonna have workshop to be the best actors that we can be on stage with that going on. So it's very exciting.
Speaker 4:It's gonna be wild because why he's flying, that's interesting.
Speaker 5:That is a
Speaker 4:that is a crazy reason. We'll spoil
Speaker 2:it. We're not gonna spoil it. You're gonna have
Speaker 4:to see why, but it's it's epic. As for sorry,
Speaker 2:the wigs?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Tell us a little bit more about these wigs that I've been hearing about.
Speaker 4:So Reese can also attest to this. We have an amazing hair and wig designer, Katherine Poon. She has been working so hard on these wigs. They will look similar to the wigs in the movie, if you're familiar with those. But they are big and they are bold and they are beautiful.
Speaker 4:Every female identifying ensemble member will get a wig.
Speaker 3:And me.
Speaker 2:Oh, and Jamie. Yes. Hey, I didn't know that.
Speaker 3:Cousin playing tins worthy and old old man.
Speaker 4:Oh, yes. So my wig, I don't know if I get one or two, but I get a long blonde curly like think like it kinda looks like a lion's mane but really It's I'll show you guys a picture. It is blonde. Missy is here she's not here to play. She's here to stay.
Speaker 2:I have She's a diva. She is a diva. She's a diva.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 3:I have yet to see my wig and I'm really scared too. Really scared too.
Speaker 2:I wore a wig for promo photos and it was very large and blonde, giving blonde bobs. So, yeah. It's definitely exactly like Dolly Parton's wig in the movie. Mhmm. I think there's they were just using that wig for promo photos and then there's gonna be a different one for the show in theory.
Speaker 2:Okay. I haven't seen the actual one yet but our director had like a list of like five things that were like non negotiable for him in this process and one of them was a huge Dolly Parton wig. So globe, we are gonna see what this globe wig looks like soon. But yeah, it's so fun, and it's so like much easier to get into character for everyone and to get into this time period. Because people just do not wear their hair the same way that they did.
Speaker 2:So that makes it a lot easier at least for me to get into character. Think it'll be super fun for the ensemble too. Mhmm.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Definitely. So.
Speaker 3:Mandy is showing her wig. You have to see You have to come see this show to see this wig because it is taking us out That right
Speaker 1:that is a wig.
Speaker 4:That is a
Speaker 3:wig. Mama, wig.
Speaker 4:Do you wear wigs? Oh, yeah. I do.
Speaker 2:Mama, a wig behind you.
Speaker 1:So every listener needs to go see nine to five so that they can see these wigs and know what we're talking about.
Speaker 2:That's the actual star of the
Speaker 4:show is the wigs.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 5:Yes, ma'am. Ma'am.
Speaker 1:Though the musical is a comedy, you guys mentioned that there are a lot of themes presented in the show that are important topics of discussion in the state of the world that we are living in today. So can you tell us more about the deeper message from the show and what you hope audiences will take away from it?
Speaker 2:Specifically with Doralee's character, she represents a lot of women in the workplace who are constantly sexualized and only seen for their looks and their body. And I think that people think this show is so exaggerated with the way that men are viewing her character and just women in the workplace. I mean, Judy comes on her first day and he immediately comments on her looks before commenting on anything else about her. Mhmm. But it's really not exaggerated.
Speaker 2:Like, men still look at women like this now. It may be not as outwardly spoken about, but it's it's clear when you walk into a room sometimes as a woman that you are immediately being perceived for your looks. Mhmm. And that shouldn't be the most important thing about you in the workplace or at all. And I hope people take that away.
Speaker 2:And I hope it's empowering for women to see, like, the star of this show in my opinion is the friendship between the women in the show. And how that is what fuels them to make this change is community and friendship and just wanting things to change. So I I hope that people take away that they have more power in the workplace than they think they do and that they are worth more than what their body looks like.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:Yeah. It's also interesting because at first, a lot of the women are pinned against each other. They have to fight against each other and also just fight against the male figures in the show. And it's the same, like, day to day, you know, competition just because you're trying to earn your place that you deserve in in in equity and equality standpoint. And then also, you have to in that situation, it it feels like sometimes you have to tear down other people to get there.
Speaker 4:And so it's interesting to see how once they realize, like, oh, shoot, we have a lot in common. Like, we're all fighting for the same goal. Let's work together and we shouldn't have been fighting against each other in the in the first place. It's like this huge revelation in the show, but it's even like that day to day. It's sometimes you don't realize, like, oh, wow.
Speaker 4:I'm I'm taking down and I'm saying bad things and I'm pushing down someone who has the same goal as me and who's also going through the same trials as me, which isn't okay. And so it's great that we have that arc in the story and Yeah. Hopefully, we can have that arc in our day to day daily lives. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. I think that is just such a powerful message and that's something that I love about theater so much is that it is so eye opening and it creates conversations that need to be had and need to continue to be had in the state of the world today. It can tell such a powerful message kinda hidden behind like a big musical and comedy standpoint. But I just love that.
Speaker 1:So what do you guys think separates this production of Nine to Five from previous productions of Nine to Five?
Speaker 2:I'd say the choreography. Honestly, I think the big dance numbers are so I I don't know. They're just like so fun. And and you know what? I've never seen another production of Nine to Five.
Speaker 2:Same here.
Speaker 5:Same
Speaker 3:here. So I don't know.
Speaker 2:But the dance numbers are so great. And I do feel like the cast is really close, which I just love so much. Like, all of us the other day went to one of our other cast member, Jordan's house, to like do kind of like a cast bonding thing.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And before like I got to Jordan's, Jordan's texting me, she's like, do I need to like have games set up? Like I'm so nervous, like what if everybody just sits there? And she didn't even have to do anything. And everybody just hung out with each other. And we were all there until like one in the morning.
Speaker 2:And it was just so much fun. And I think that that makes such a huge impact in the way that the story is told. You can tell when people like each other on stage.
Speaker 5:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:Like, you can. Even like with some of the best actors, you can still think like, this show would be better if they liked each other. And I think we all really do. Like Mhmm. Just the dynamic that has been created between the cast and the choreographers and the directors and music directors and everybody behind the scenes The has
Speaker 4:stage management team. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And I think everybody is so committed to making this show good. Mhmm. And because there are so many pieces and parts I mean, when I think about how many people are on this show, there have to be at least 50. Mean, there are so many people on the show. Like, wigs, costumes, lights, sound, set.
Speaker 2:Like, there are a million people on each thing. And I think the community amongst all of us is just gonna make this a really great show.
Speaker 5:Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And I will say it's really nice to be in an educational setting and being able to be so close to the people, you know, like I mean, Reese and I have a ton of classes together. I mean, Anna, you're in all of them too. So we see each other a lot. But Jamie, we don't always get classes with you. So it's so nice to be able to have a theater dynamic with your classmates, but also just peers in the university as well as, like, we're learning, but we're also trying to produce something that is well done.
Speaker 4:And it's so nice to have that collaborative experience where we're all working towards the common goal. You know, in in community theater, you don't always get that. You don't always get to see the design process. You don't always get to see the behind the scenes of everything until it comes together, even in regional and professional theater.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:So that's something really beautiful, and I think that does set us apart is we get to see our peers working on the design process. We get to see how excited they are or the challenges that they're and how they are coming through that. And we get to see it all come together and and support one another because we all just want the show to be beautiful and we all want each other to succeed, which I think is awesome.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think what's gonna set us apart from other productions of nine to five is, hands down, the vocals we have in this show. We have powerhouses literally screaming their lungs and their vocal cords out on stage, and it's just so magical and impactful. I've We all Especially with our leading ladies, I've heard them sing for four years now. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And I've heard them sing these songs multiple times now, and it's still goosebumps, chills Tears. Time Tears. Time they open their mouths. And I think it's it's just something special. And also, like Reese was talking about the friendship of the show, I think the three of them also have that in real life and it translates also into the music.
Speaker 4:Mhmm. Yes.
Speaker 2:My god, Jamie. You're literally making me cry. I was just thinking too, like, the Olivia and I were just talking about this that, like, the ensemble vocals in these dance numbers, like, it is hard to sing your heart out and be doing these huge tap numbers. And the ensemble is on it. Like, all of these there are a lot of people cast in the show who haven't been in a main stage yet, like some underclassmen, some people outside of majors who just came in and were ready to work.
Speaker 2:And I'm just, like, so impressed by everyone. In Spring Awakening, the music was very different and not songs that we had heard before, which also makes it a lot harder. But like, those harmonies, like, they're so fun and it makes the whole show come together when those vocals are together too. Because I mean, like, of course, the acting is important in a musical but people love music. Like, that's why they come to see these shows, especially this show when it's music that people already know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I've had so much fun learning this music and working on it because it's definitely challenging and it takes a lot of, for me personally, breath support to be able to, like, sustain these long held out notes. But it's been so much fun. And really, there are just, like, incredible voices in this show that that I feel like haven't been showcased yet. Like Yeah. Jordan is playing Roz Keith, who is Hart's assistant.
Speaker 2:And she had like a supporting role in Spring Awakening, so people got to hear her sing in that. But I just never think I can hear that girl sing enough. And she has this like That's stunning. This song called Heart to Heart and it's just like, oh my god. This song was just made for her to sing and I cannot wait for people to hear it.
Speaker 3:It's gonna steal a show.
Speaker 4:It really is. It really is. It's so hard to be on stage dancing in that number and not wanna turn and just watch her the whole time because she's so funny. She's so good.
Speaker 2:She's just a magnet.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I'm so I'm so so so excited to see it. So you guys have worked on a few shows at MSU and I
Speaker 2:know we kinda just touched on it but how has Nine
Speaker 1:to Five differed from previous productions you have done in Michigan State's theater department?
Speaker 4:I'd say right off the bat, it's been interesting knowing that the show's gonna be set in the Fairchild because that is a proscenium theater, which means that the audience is on one side and the cast is on the other. But I've only ever done shows in the Pason Theater at the Wharton Center, which is technically a thrust, which is the audience is on three sides of the stage. Mhmm. And Anna and I have been in several shows on that stage together, and Reese and Jamie and I were just in one in November together. And it's very different knowing that because you have to play the three sides in the Pason compared to one.
Speaker 4:So you can adjust your focus a lot more. So that's been really exciting for me just knowing that, like, I get to work in a different space and I get to just focus my my acting in one direction compared to three, which there's nothing bad with either, but it's cool to get to have that. That difference in the in the space after my four years here.
Speaker 3:Yeah. This is my first, like, main stage musical, not counting the NML. MSU has a program called the NML, which is the New Musical Laboratory. You just need to learn a new musical in, two weeks. But
Speaker 2:No big deal. Just No big
Speaker 3:just like two weeks brand new musical. So I did that my sophomore I did one of those my sophomore years, but this is my first, like, actual musical in my head at MSU. And so that immediately has just been different, learning all the music. Yeah. I guess that's what's been different.
Speaker 4:So you get a costume too?
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah. I get a costume.
Speaker 2:That's awesome.
Speaker 3:I very rarely I've had, like, two costume fittings. Yeah. I've had two costumes before from an MSU or a show. One my freshman year and then one literally last semester. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Everything else has either been Storefront. A storefront or a second stage that's kind of like picking and choosing from what's my closet in another costume department.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:So it's just it's nice to kind of like feel the kind of almost professional aspect they try to kind of put us through when we do a huge show like a musical. Even for someone that's not going into this field professionally, it's just fun to like feel like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Mhmm. And you get a wig. So
Speaker 2:And I get wig. Wig.
Speaker 3:Wig. Breeze.
Speaker 2:Something. I don't know. I feel like, one, the time of how little time we have.
Speaker 5:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:Which in like perspective, like, it's only a week less Mhmm. Like, than other shows have gotten. But an entire week, like we were saying before, needs to be devoted to music rehearsals, especially because this musical has so many songs and literally all except, like, three are in act one. So it's like, boom. Big number.
Speaker 2:Big number. Big number in act one. But, yeah, the timing has been different and Adam hasn't directed a main stage musical here yet. I I worked I was really lucky to work with him this summer in Summer Circle Theater to do Title of Show. So I kind of already knew him as that director, but there were only four of us in that show.
Speaker 2:So the dynamic has been very different and it's been really fun seeing him, like, come into his own as a director because I, like, I have him as a voice teacher as well and he kinda talked to me about how he's like, yeah, I'm kinda nervous, like, for nine to five because it's like this huge show. It's like his MSU debut or whatever, you Yeah. Yeah. It's been super fun working with him and, like, we have great assistant directors and it's there been are just so many people on this show, which is also different. Like, have three assistant stage managers.
Speaker 2:Two assistant directors. Yeah. Two assistant directors, assistant music director, music director, three choreographers. Like, there's just so many people working on this. So that has made the process really interesting too.
Speaker 2:I've just never been a big part in a main stage. I'm very grateful for this experience because it has taught me a lot about professionalism and taking what's thrown at you because Adam is the bluntest person you will ever meet Oh in your yeah. And he will tell you if it's not working. So just being able to take that as feedback as just a way to grow has been a great learning experience for me. And this character is like, supposed to be the like sex object of this office and sometimes it's a lot to play a character that everyone is constantly staring at, constantly objectifying.
Speaker 2:And it has been great for me as a person just to learn how to separate character from person.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. For sure. Yeah. And then you guys are all seniors and this is your last show and semester here. Do you guys think this is something you wanna pursue in the future?
Speaker 4:Yeah. Definitely. I I hope so. I would love to pursue theater in any and every way I can, whether that's, you know, being an actor. I love acting.
Speaker 4:That's like my first love. Or musical theater. But I also really love directing. It's way harder than I thought. We're taking directing this semester.
Speaker 4:It's a lot harder than I thought. But I would love to continue working and directing, stage management, anything. Anything I can do in the industry is what I I I wanna be a part of it in any capacity. So after college, you know, I'm gonna audition for any and everything I can, whether that's moving to a different city or a different state or even a different country. Like, I'm ready to go and I'm ready to hopefully make a cool character choice and maybe make it to a professional theater.
Speaker 4:We'll see what happens. But I just I don't know. I just wanna sing my little heart out and yap on stage and wear a cool costume and maybe a wig. Maybe a wig too.
Speaker 5:Maybe And if
Speaker 4:I can do that, hey, if any casting directors are out there, let me know because I will be there.
Speaker 3:Call me. Unfortunately, probably not for me. I am a business student marketing major here, so that is some field I'm going to be going into after this. I have grad school lined up after I graduate. I'm moving over to London to study fashion marketing.
Speaker 3:So I'm hopefully gonna be yeah. Yes.
Speaker 5:That's what
Speaker 3:happened. So I'm hopefully gonna be in some fashion business world, and I'm hoping that I can take, you know, some time off once I'm settled down with like a nice big boy job. Mhmm. And I can like go do some kind of regional theater on the side because there's no way I'm gonna live the rest of my life not doing another show. I have to do Chorus Line before I die.
Speaker 5:That is just that is a must.
Speaker 3:And I've maybe got ten years before my knees give out. So I've gotta figure out a way to do that. So I'm gonna keep it in my life where I can, but unfortunately not professionally.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yes. I, like, will pretty much do anything to be in theater. I just have realized in my college career how important it is to me and how much happier I am when I'm working on a show and being able to put my energy into something that means something to people. Mhmm. I'm hoping to move to New York later this year, which is so exciting but so terrifying.
Speaker 2:So hopefully, I will get a, you know, a survival job, a little barista gig, a Mhmm. Retails associate job, and be able to audition. So I'm super excited. And if I don't if that doesn't work out, I honestly would be really happy teaching it. I've always thought about being a drama teacher for a high school.
Speaker 2:I think it would be super fun and I've had a lot of great teachers in my time that I would love to be that for somebody else. So if acting doesn't work out, I'll be really bummed but at least I would love to be in the arts somewhere.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I love that. To wrap up, if you could describe Nine to Five in one word, what would it be and why should audiences come out and see it?
Speaker 2:I'm gonna say strong. Yeah. I think that the female ensemble, the female leads in this show are strong and that is something that should be seen on stage. Mhmm.
Speaker 4:Yeah. I was gonna say power. There's so much power, positive and negative. But you leave with one over the other, and I think that is just something that we all need encouragement for and a reminder of in our
Speaker 1:lives. Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's a good one, Mandy.
Speaker 3:I was gonna say girl power, but the one word version from the Spice
Speaker 2:Girls. Yes.
Speaker 3:Just because I think, obviously, the women are the crucial part of this show. But I think also, like, especially as me being a guy, playing a guy in the show, the male ensemble and even the male characters all have this weird, like, almost feminine energy. And I think that's where, like, the divide also comes from. It's, like, even the most masculine of characters, you see them almost kind of have this soft feminine side to them, and that's what makes them even more masculine in a weird way. Do see what I'm saying?
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I think that the the male characters take inspiration from the female characters Yes. And they don't realize that they're doing it. And I think it was written that way on purpose.
Speaker 5:A 100%.
Speaker 2:The best aspects of mister Hart are because he has the assistants and the secretaries that he does have. Yes. Yes. Which are women. So Yeah.
Speaker 2:Success is because of women. Women. Yes. I love that.
Speaker 1:Well, unfortunately, that is all the time we have for today. But I am cheering you guys on and I'm so so so excited to go see Nine to Five running February 15 through the twenty third in the Fairchild Theatre. You all were so wonderful and break all the legs. Thank you so much for coming in today.
Speaker 3:Thank you for hanging Yay.
Speaker 4:Love you, Anna. Come see nine to five. Woo.
Speaker 5:Free tickets
Speaker 4:at the Wharton Center.
Speaker 3:Yeah. MSU students get free tickets.
Speaker 5:Mhmm. Yay. That's
Speaker 1:all for our show today. Thank you to our station manager, Ashley Land, general manager, Jeremy Whiting, graduate assistant, Delaney Rogers, and program director, McKenna Lounge. And of course, a special thank you to you, our listeners. See you next time on the undercurrent. If you are interested in listening to past archive stories, check out our website at impact89fm.org.
Speaker 1:If you are interested in more stories like this, tune back in at 10:30 every other Sunday morning, and we will see you right back here. This has been Annie Arnold signing off as your host, and you have been listening to the undercurrent.