A Chorus Line

Cast, Pit and Staff of ISM’s production of A Chorus Line

For this production of A Chorus Line, I was the rehearsal accompanist and Keys 1 player within the pit. I was on my way to establishing myself as a musician within this club and was glad to be able to be part of another ISM Production.

This show has a very special place in my heart because this production was ended early by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of my favorite memories in all of my productions was the Friday before the tech week of this show. We had already gotten the notice that all students had to go home, so the board had decided to put on one last show before everyone left. We hastily messaged all of the members of pit, found a sub drummer that was sight reading the entire music, and somehow put on a full show a week early with full costumes and choreography. This was our sitzprobe, opening night, and closing night all wrapped into one hectic evening, and the feeling of performing a musical overtook everything that worried us for a magical hour and half.

This was a large turning point in my love for musical theater because at the end of the show, everyone shared what this show and the organization itself meant to them, since we didn’t know when the return to normalcy would be. I found that what I loved about working in musical theater is the ability to work with other people and create something that would have never happened if people did not put in the effort. Everyone in ISM works extremely hard and puts in a lot of time to put on a show and that is something that has stuck with me: that creating the best show requires you to put in your own best efforts.

Photography by Kaiya Scholl @kaiyasideas.png