Student Blog: Wearing a New Hat

One of the most anticipated parts of my semester is the actualization of a musical I cowrote called Mjürder: A Murder Mystery Musical, written with Sam Frechette and edited by Leann Gardner. I am extremely passionate about this murder mystery set in an IKEA that is being performed by The Committee for Creative Enactments this Fall.

Developing this project since December 2020, I am thrilled to have the show completed with demo tracks recorded and all characters cast! It is so interesting to be a writer as part of a new work development process, and I cannot wait to see how the show progresses.

Our writing process hinged on establishing detailed characters and allowing them to interact with one another in order to build our plot. The characters serve as the foundation for any piece since it is all about human relationships and how people interact. My co-writer, editor and I worked tirelessly to craft complex individuals with lessons to learn, who could seamlessly connect throughout rising conflict and resolution. Auditions for this show were fascinating to experience because the performers were meeting these characters for the first time. There was nothing to copy and no firm choices to model. I loved to see what information people would highlight from the character descriptions we provided, and what they could connect with for their auditions. Seeing my characters come to life throughout the rehearsal process has been an amazing and exhilarating experience as I see fellow performers working to make our ideas a reality.

I will never forget the first time I heard this entire show read by the complete cast. Throughout the writing process, we had friends participate in read-throughs to help with revisions, but it was a more casual setting with less readers than characters written. The official cast of performers were perfectly suited for their roles, and I could really hear the characters come to life as I sat in the first rehearsal. I enjoyed seeing outside reactions for the first time and getting a fresh perspective on a show I knew inside and out. Finally having a cast for this musical gave it a new energy that excited me and made me proud of all the work my team committed to the project.

Now that rehearsals are underway, I am looking forward to the performance of my first co-written musical. I have always enjoyed the rehearsal process for shows I act in, but this experience is entirely unique. It is inspiring to see people working with passion on something that I cherish so much, and everyone is dedicated to making this an amazing musical. I do not know if I will ever get used to hearing and seeing my work done by others, but it is such a powerful feeling. We are hard at work developing the staging, acting choices, choreography, set pieces, and costumes for this musical in December.

When I first entered college I had no idea that this would be a passion of mine, and I have a new appreciation for the process as a whole. I cannot wait to see the completion of my work in a full-scale performance and am thrilled to see the reactions of audiences by the end of this semester!