For the last four months, Central Kitsap High School’s drama department has worked tirelessly to create a finished production of “The Addams Family” for the community, culminating in their final week of shows. With opening week now behind the actors, many look back on their performances to make refining touches in pursuit of perfection.
“I think that shows only get better when actors have a little bit more time and interaction with the audience,” Director Zach Timm said. “There’s a sweet spot where they’re still growing in their craft now that they have an audience to interact with. Theoretically they should know, like, ‘Oh, here are moments where I can [sing louder].’”
Certain adjustments can only be made after a show has been run in front of an actual audience. Learning which moments get the most crowd reactions or understanding when to pause for applause is imperative for the musical to present itself properly, especially with the anticipation of more attendees.
“The first few nights were well attended, but I think that now that we’ve had word of mouth traveling for over a week, and people know the show is a success and that it’s good, hopefully we’ll be able to pack more people into those seats and get more people to enjoy the show,” Timm said.
Along with more experience bouncing off the audience, the cast has also taken time to shake off their initial nerves from opening week, truly settling into their comedically macabre characters.
“A lot of other people were nervous, but I think most of us were pretty excited,” actor Li-Mei Co said. “I feel like most of the nerves went down, especially after we had our little pep talk before the performance.”
Beyond the passionate performances on stage, members in the drama department also flourish as people during their time behind the curtain, growing closer to other students with shared interests and learning valuable lessons.
“This show has taught me a lot about how to make the best use of the time that we have,” actor Juancho Perez said. “I wasn’t in ‘Legally Blonde,’ but we had less time than they did with ‘Legally Blonde,’ and so we really were taught to take advantage of the time we have. Like, rehearsing over winter break, rehearsal on weekends, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.”
Before rehearsals or even auditions took place, Timm was figuring out logistics behind the show to ensure the department could adequately handle it. Factoring in the number of people predicted to audition, analyzing the vocal talents in both the choir and theater programs, and pivoting away from musicals similar to past productions was essential to the process.
“About a year ago we had our first production meeting to select the title and pay for the rights last spring,” Timm said. “In the spring semester we got all those details finalized and had our first real meeting about it; I believe it was April of last year. It’s been a long time coming.”
As the final show comes near, each and every student continues to give all their effort, whether it be on stage or behind the scenes; they come together night after night to put on a spectacle.
“I told them that the only thing greater than their talent is their commitment, and that’s really shown up,” Timm said. “I would say that any expectations I had have been exceeded, and that’s not an easy thing to do here.”
The Addams Family musical will have four final shows between Mar. 7 and Mar. 9 in the Performing Arts Center.
