Did you know that the theater department puts on around 21 performances every year? The Fall Play, One Acts, the Senior Musical, and the Spring Musical. Or that there are five different choirs at San Marcos? Enchante, Madrigals, Royal Knights, Girls Chorus, and A Capella. As we’re halfway through the year, both the theater and choir departments have shifted quite a bit of focus towards the Spring Musical as they work together to build this show. The choir department is also working towards competitions and showcases in the near future.

Theater

So many seniors and so little time, the senior musical helps to shine light on each senior in a smaller setting where the spotlight is entirely on them. The seniors just finished performances of the second year of the senior musical and the department is hoping to continue this tradition. The senior musical, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, featured many of our favorite Peanuts characters and their trials and tribulations as they explored life’s great questions. 

“It’s a very small cast because it’s just the seniors so you get to really connect with everybody,” said senior Zach Johnson, who played Linus Van Pelt. “Within the two weeks before the show started we were spending almost every day after school for like two to two and a half hours trying to build this whole thing together.”

Get your umbrellas ready because the forecast for May is showers. This year’s spring musical is Singing in the Rain. This musical, set in the late 1920s, features the transition of movies from silent pictures to “talkies” and the mishaps of the transition for both actors and tech crew. 

“One of my favorite things about the musical is being able to learn from the upperclassmen and being able to work with them because we have some really talented people in the cast,” said freshman Naomi Voigt who plays Kathy, a young aspiring actress in the show. 

A truly historical musical to follow last year’s The Addams Family, make sure to check it out in May!

Choir

As it turns out, our hallways have great acoustics where you may have heard or seen choir singing. This semester’s choirs include Royal Knights, Madrigals, Enchanté, and A Cappella. With many showcases and competitions to look forward to, choir has been very busy this year. The Madrigals have been invited to Seattle this year for a concert at the Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony while Royal Knights are attending a competition at Cal Lutheran University. On top of all that, the San Marcos choirs are planning to sing in many different festivals in California.

“In April we will have our annual musical theater/pop show (this year’s title is Once Upon a Pop Show),” said choir director and teacher Ms Pantages. “In May, Madrigals and Enchanté will be competing in the WorldStrides music festival in San Francisco.”

Every thought of sending a singing valentine message? On top of their showcases and competitions, choir has also been selling Valograms that students can send to each other. Groups of choir students prepare a love song and then visit classrooms to deliver the song to its recipient along with a card and some candy on Valentine’s Day.

Choir is definitely going to be very busy getting ready for their competitions and events. Be sure to check out Once Upon a Pop Show in April and look out for an upcoming district showcase on February 20th at 6:30pm to hear all choirs sing.

There is obviously a large amount of work that goes into the limited time of a semester to put on the various productions and yet the departments are going to be pulling out all the stops to bring San Marcos the most professional performances in the district. To learn more about the upcoming performances and showcases, visit their instagrams and websites. I encourage everyone to go to a showcase or a night of the musical, I promise you will not be disappointed.