Charlie Brown Insight and Quotes!
By Dinah Williams
You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown insight and quotes
Coronavirus has caused us to be apart from each other, and especially during this time of distance learning, it’s important to find joy. Well, the middle school musical You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown did that for the Menlo community. The play was fun, exciting, and engaging. Here’s what some of the performers thought about doing a play during COVID-19 and other aspects of the musical...
What’s your costume like, what was the process of getting them?
“This year we saw what everyone had in their houses first and then got stuff from the costume vaults from previous shows. Also, some costumes are bought.” - Miss Othmar and Frieda, Zoya Prabhakar.
As we saw last weekend, Woodstock played by Fernanda Aguilar was in, “All yellow. Big yellow tutu, yellow tights, yellow shoes, yellow feathers…” she told me. A very fun and accurate embodiment of her character.
What props do you use and how do they impact your part/ Tell me a bit about props?
“They’re essential to the show to help enhance the way people act,” replied Zoya.
An example of this is the playground set in the play. Here’s how Mr. Lewis described it, “The swing set and other playground elements make it feel like you’re outdoors playing and it’s a play so it works together.”
Some other props used were clipboards, pencils, a composition notebook, baseball mitts, a hat, gloves, blanket, valentines, a giant sharpie, a mini piano, and a sign.
Can you relate to your character, why, or how?
“There are parts of my character I relate to… she’s crabby and mean so I don’t relate to her on a day-to-day basis in that way but everyone has their bad days and there’s a part of every character that relates to someone,” answered Lucy, aka Alexa Muchnick.
“She’s not the most popular girl in school but she’s still good friends with certain people and she has good relationships. This relates to struggles of any person in social life,” stated Violet, played by Mila Pineda.
“He really likes to eat food so yes,” Snoopy (Ally Kiang) exclaimed!
How is it managing school and theater?
Here are a few actors’ take-ups on it…
“It’s doable in a time like this, Mr. Lewis is very understanding about balancing academics and arts so in rehearsals he says if you have homework you can leave. I can balance it, for the most part, I’m able to get through all my work. Also, I email teachers and they’re understanding,” replied Alexa.
“A little difficult, especially this week doing rehearsals until 6:30,” Zoya told me during the week before performances.
“Teachers do a good job accommodating you and they understand,”
Said Clifford Palmer, who played Charlie Brown.
“Pretty easy, everyone is understanding,” said Ally.
Overall it seems like teachers, as well as Mr. Lewis, are understanding and accommodating which makes it easier to participate in theater knowing you won’t have to be stressed over the balance of school work and rehearsal.
Anything else you’d like to tell me?
“Really fun show because everyone’s playing 8-year-olds,” Zoya expressed to me.
“It’s nice to get to know your castmates and the crew,” Franklin, played by Sage Brandon, responded!
What is it like doing a play outdoors?
“It’s enjoyable because we can see all the trees and grass,” answered Sage.
“Just work through it and know that it’s the same thing and just a little bit colder. Adapt to the new environment, theater is theater no matter where you are. Just make do.” replied Timothy Harrick who played Shroeder.
What is it like doing a play doing COVID-19 and having to wear a mask?
“I’ve never done a performance before COVID, usually they’re inside, this is a unique experience. My first year’s very different than normal,” said Fernanda.
The chemistry between the actors was visible as they worked together so flawlessly to put together an amazing show.
Menlo has been very proactive about getting students on campus in the safest way possible so for theater they’ve been getting COVID tested even before we started hybrid learning. They wore masks off stage, and socially distanced. Also to keep the broader community safe, the performance was virtual as we all saw last weekend.
One thing that stood out to me as I dropped in on one of the rehearsals was the exercises & games Mr. Lewis initiated to get the cast energized before rehearsing.