With a title fit for the location, The Department of Music Singer’s Theatre Workshop (STW) presents “Rocks the Stadium” on April 10 on Deeds Field at Piper stadium, featuring a revue of all your favorite rock songs from musicals that premiered on Broadway from 1970 to 2020.
Singer’s Theatre Workshop Director Belinda Andrews-Smith describes the group as, “An award winning, character building, all embracing performance group, with twenty-three years of incredible singing artists.” STW ensemble has always been full of unique students with differing majors, but a similar passion for the arts and for performing and this performance cast is no different.
Allie O’Connor ‘23, a Psychology and Education with a minor in vocal performance, and an ensemble member of STW, shares her thoughts on the Rocks the Stadium.
What has been your experience in preparing for this show? What have you learned from it?
This show is definitely a lot different from the other shows I’ve done with Singer’s Theatre. COVID makes it really hard for us to do musical theatre because a lot of musicals in general don’t really follow social distancing guidelines. I’m really happy that we were able to figure something out that works though! We are following all the COVID guidelines and are still able to put on a great show.
What has been your favorite part of this show so far and why?
I really enjoy our outdoor rehearsals. It gives us a chance to watch all the other songs that we aren’t in which is super cool. We spend a lot of time in our individual groups rehearsing, so the chance to see everyone come together and show what they’ve been working on is always really cool. Also “Time Warp”, our group number, is a blast!
What have been some obstacles you’ve faced in preparing for this show and how did you overcome them?
We’ve had to approach acting a lot differently this semester. In some songs the characters would typically hug one another or dance together, but that isn’t possible this semester. We’ve had to come up with a lot of creative new ways to express what we are singing in order to adhere to COVID guidelines, but I think it’s turning out pretty well!
Belinda Andrews-Smith also added, “COVID has created many difficult challenges for live performance, but Denison students are resilient. Singer’s Theatre Rocks the Stadium features Broadway rock music in a safe performance space with a brilliant concert full of incredible singing, dancing, performing and fun!”
Performances April 10, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m (with a rain date of Sunday, April 11)
