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the story to help develop the choreography, the characters, where its from
-- any type of mood that you want the audience to feel and also thinking
about the performers skills. I like to use the students special talents in
the best way possible, explained Mrs. Brown.
Skie elaborated on what its like to be a part of the production.
Being a part of Starlight Express is like taking an AP class. You go
into it sort of overestimating how well its going to go, and all of a sudden
it starts and everythings so fast-paced that you cant keep up...you find
yourself silently wondering if you should have done this because you just
dont think you can make it, said Skie. But then you do, and you do it so
well that it makes everything so worth it, and you start to wish you could
do it all over again.
Despite all the hard work that must be done, Miller explained why its
worth it.
I chose to be a part of Starlight Express not only because I love to
dance and sing, but because of what an amazing experience being part of
a cast is, shared Miller. We are like a family, and being around such a
positive group of people is the highlight of my high school experience.
There will be a total of four performances of the production in the LHS
auditorium: on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m.; on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:30
p.m.; on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m.; and on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 3 p.m.
Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for students at the door. For advanced
tickets, visit www.lhsstageplayers.org or call 847-327-7058.

BEHIND THE SCENES

TIA PETRZILKA

Every year, the Fine Arts Department at LHS puts together a number
of productions. However, this November, they are doing something that
has never been done in the history of the school: they are performing a
musical on roller skates.
Starlight Express is rarely done in a high school setting, due to the
nature of the play.
No high school in their right mind puts on Starlight Express; its too
technically and choreographically complicated. But were doing it, and
were not failing, and that to me is the most exciting thing in the world,
stated senior Taylor Skie, who plays Dinah the dining car.
The technical director of the show, Mr. Kevin Holly, saw the original
production of Starlight Express (written by Andrew Lloyd Webber) in
London in 1985 and was in awe of the performance.
The reason why I love it so much is that its a spectacle in terms of the
actors. [Theyre] roller skating, theyre dressed up in these costumes that
make them look like trains. The lighting [for this production] is going
[to] be overwhelming, the effects that are going to happen -- they [will
be] skating through the audience, exclaimed Mr. Holly. Just the sheer
size and spectacle will be something that has never happened as far as I
know in this auditorium...Its Andrew Lloyd Webber, so its going to be
big and just amazing to watch.
Many of the students had no prior skating experience, but they put in
the hours to learn as early as May at the roller rink in Mundelein, where
they currently rehearse.
The musical is centrally a Cinderella-like story about a steam engine
named Rusty (played by sophomore Jack Miller) and his goal is to win
the affection of Pearl (played by Jackie Ovassapian), the classiest coach. It
takes place in the imagination of a little boy.
Its really a love story -- its all about the underdog, explained Mr.
Christopher Thomas, English and theater teacher, and the director of
the musical. The Cinderella character Rusty trying to get the girl in the
end.
According to Mrs. Eryn Brown, the music director and choreographer
for the show, there is a set score for the show; it has the accompanying
music that is written already for the musical.
I use obviously the music to help do the rhythm and the counts and
stuff like that, but the main determining factor is the plays plot. We use

Feature

Lead Jackie Ovassapian plays the role of Pearl, an observation car. Pictured above (center),
she runs routines in Act I with others in the cast.
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Seen above, set construction for the musical took out rows of seats in the auditorium to allow cast members to skate through the audience during the show. Hannah Hartung (in front) leads
others as they practice on the ramps.
the cast more time to rehearse and get familiarized with the layout of the
stage. Every part of the floor used for skating will be covered up with an
extra piece of hardboard material to make the surface smoother. Additionally, there are railings everywhere on the set for the skaters, according
to Mr. Holly.
Weve taken seats out and put that hardwood material on the floor like
we did on the stage for students to skate on. In order to create more space
for them to skate we left the pit cover on that we usually take out to put
the orchestra in. They are now going to be on stage for students to have
even more room to skate,
Other than a school in Ohio about eight or nine years ago, there have
been very few high school productions of the Starlight Express. That is
why there is a certain type of buzz around the community, because it is so
rare to see, Mr. Thomas said

SKATING SAFETY AND SET CONSTRUCTION

Jarrett Malec

On Nov. 5-7, the LHS theatre department will be showcasing the famous musical production: Starlight Express.
For this musical, most of the cast will be on roller skates, which presents
an issue of safety. In order to make sure that all students and cast would
be as safe as possible, preparation for this musical began at the end of the
last school year.
We started skate nights on Wednesday nights at the roller rink in
Mundelein. Our first skate night was the last day of final exams. There
were students from Libertyville at every single skate night. It was good to
get them to feel comfortable on skates, as well as preparing for auditions,
stated LHS Theater Coordinator Kevin Holly.
Along with having weekly open-skate practices, the theater department
contacted many people about how to ensure safety for everyone involved.
They asked the roller rink staff about what type of skates to use, as well
as Athletic Trainer Ron Russ to inform him about the rehearsals and the
possibility of an injury.
We had a guy come in who we called our skate professional. He came
and worked with students for a long time both over the summer and
in the beginning of the process this year. I also had a meeting with the
Libertyville Fire Department fire marshall about what they would let us
do with the audience, Mr. Holly informed.
With the expansive role of skating in the musical this fall, Mr. Holly
and the crew began work earlier than normal on the set in order to give

Feature

Photos by Lola Akinlade

Layout by Hannah Boufford

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