The Midnight Players had to change their performing location due to disruptions from the construction plan. They performed The Sound of Music at John Poole Middle School (JPMS) from April 24 to April 26.
The play the cast performed was based on the 1949 memoir, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp. It is a fictional retelling of her experiences as governess to seven children, and then her eventual marriage with their father Captain Georg von Trapp.
This year the cast rehearsed three times a week, and rehearsal started an hour later in comparison to last year because of the change in director.
“The cast had about six weeks to rehearse,” said Technology Director Milo Rickert. “Tech had maybe a week and a half to prepare before the show, where we usually have at least a month to two months.”
The need to transport materials to JPMS came along with the location change.
“The hardest part about the change in location was moving props and costumes from the high school to the middle school. We had to take carloads to and from.” senior cast member Bridget Oberman said.
The Midnight Players needed to shift their operations to accommodate the various changes.
“We all had to adapt to expand our roles to compensate for a smaller crew and a new space,” said Rickert. “We had multiple actors help with costumes, especially for the children who were acting, and I had several techs last-minute learn how to run microphones to help with the changes.”
Because of the lack of space, the cast sold fewer tickets when compared to sales last year. While the spring show in 2023 sold a total of 1046 tickets, the Midnight Players were able to sell 786 tickets this year. The JPMS cafeteria holds a capacity of 497 people. The cafeteria stage area at the middle school is also significantly smaller than the high school auditorium that was previously used.
“In terms of the turnout, JPMS was very successful,” said Kaitlyn Hartings, the paint director. “Despite the fact that we couldn’t fit as many people in the venue – so we couldn’t be as successful as at Poolesville High School – we had more than a full house the last two days”
In addition to the location changes, there were some new cast additions. The musical featured eight elementary students from Poolesville Elementary School, one from Monocacy Elementary School, and five from JPMS.
“The kids made a wonderful contribution to the show,” said Oberman. “They worked hard to portray their characters well. It was so much fun to see them grow a passion for theater.”
