By Mia Khan, Staff Writer
Q & A
This year’s first drama performance was the Athena’s Island play, written by Joseph Hudelson, the drama teacher. In the interview, Joseph Hudelson, Mills’ drama teacher and author of Athena’s island, reflects on the musical performance. Mr. Gregoric, the band director, Mr. Cottrell, the Mills health teacher and guitarist for the musical, and Madison Schoening, the lead actress, answer questions and discuss their thoughts about the play.
The cast of Athena’s Island play.
Q: What are your thoughts on how the whole performance went?
A: Hudelson: I thought it was fun and a real community building thing. The process was challenging, just putting the pieces together, but I had a lot of help. I couldn’t have done it without Mr. G, Mr. Cottrell, the cast, everybody involved. Mr. G and Cottrell really brought out the composer in me.
Q: Who are some performers you’d like to spotlight?
A: Hudelson: Madison Schoening did a fantastic job playing Jennifer Doudna “You can’t play a strong female character without a strong female actress”. Our drama club newcomers had a breakthrough with this performance
A: Gregoric: I’d like to spotlight our drama department veterans, Madison Schoening, Erik Headley, and Shree Singh. They did an outstanding job and held the performance together.
Q: Were there any struggles or breakthrough successes creating the play?
A: Hudelson There were both. The struggles were really with the format. It’s a rock musical, so in many ways, it’s very organic and hard to arrange. When we were putting it together sometimes we had struggles with key changes and where is it gonna go. Being a drummer made it easier, but when I’m playing guitar, it’s very free flowing and sometimes doesn’t adhere to a strict meter, so I had to go back and think about the music measure by measure. I’m a musician, but Mr. Cottell and Mr. G speak the language better than I do, so it was about asking for their help and being more methodical and detail-oriented in my composition.
A: Gregoric: It was hard managing edits, and going from one groove to another one.
Q: What were the themes running through the whole performance?
A: Hudelson: There were quite a few, but mainly it’s the idea that anyone of us can produce something that’s great. For Jennifer Doudna, she was just a small town girl who just loved nature and is fascinated, and she’s going to be known as one of the most important scientists in history, even if it hasn’t happened yet. I feel like the theme is ‘I didn’t think I could write a musical’. Well, Jennifer Doudna can change DNA, so why can’t I write a musical? So it’s been really inspiring for me, and it’s never too late. I’m gonna write another musical, and I’m gonna write another play. There’s a line in there, ‘why not me? Why not now?’ and I think that applies to everyday life.
Q: How proud of your students are you?
A: Hudelson: Extremely. That’s the other thing. Like the themes earlier, it takes a village, a community. You can have an idea, but without other people you really can’t make it happen. What I love about my job is the people I get to work with. These students bring their own life experience and talents. Sometimes you think about the talent you have, like this person could sing this. You can’t have a play about a strong female character without a strong female singer, and Maddie was perfect for it. Same thing for Taylor, she really portrayed Roslyn well. That’s really the fun of a musical, you make a work of art and you hand it off, and they interet it, and it’s part of a creative process.
Q: How much time/commitment was spent practicing?
A: Hudelson: Overall, we spent 30-40 hours putting the whole musical together
Q: How many songs were there?
A: Gregoric: There were about 30 songs
Q: What was the cast’s overall favorite song?
A: Gregoric: The cast loved Berkeley, it was a fun song to perform.
Q: How proud are you of your students (to the teacher)\
A: Hudelson: This musical would not be possible without the phenomenal help of Mr. Gregoric, Mr. Cottrell, the cast, the orchestra, and everyone supporting the production.
It seems like everyone enjoyed the musical, it was a true testament to the hard work of Mr. Hudelson and the VAPA department. Make sure to watch Our Town and support the drama department.
Review:
One might have doubts about how good a self-produced school musical is. However, watching Athena’s Island quelled all doubts. It was amazing to see the VAPA department overcome their challenges to deliver an intricate story about determination mixed with science.
The storyline for Athena’s Island was made better simply because it’s a true story. The cherry on top is knowing that Jennifer Doudna is in the Bay Area, making groundbreaking discoveries almost right next to us. Her story of resilience inspires us to keep doing the impossible. We might see our challenges as hard to overcome, but as proved by Doudna, and in essence, there is always a way to overcome them. But Jennifer Doudna was not successful only because of her own resilience. Without sounding preachy, Mr. Hudelson reminds his audience that we are shaped by our friends, family, and those around us. They are the ones who support us and keep us going when we feel like we can’t do it by ourselves. And that’s the beauty of Athena’s Island: Jennifer Doudna’s achievements stemmed both from herself and from the unconditional love and support from her parents.
The music was certainly fun to listen to. Rather than sticking to one genre, it was a mix of many different ones. With powerful songs contrasted by sweet lullabies, the discography kept everyone interested. Catchy tunes and soulful melodies came together to paint a picture of the turmoil and success the Doudna encountered. The storyline was clearly displayed both in the lyrics and through the emotion of the performers. Rather than a boring monologue about DNA and double helixes, the audience was immersed into Doudna’s discoveries through song. The words stayed colloquial, ensuring that all audiences could still enjoy the show even with no understanding of science. Although it was sometimes hard to hear through the crackling of the outside speakers, the feelings of the cast showed through anyway.
The mix of science and art was also a new and pleasant surprise. Normally, these two tend not to mix, but Athena’s Island tied the toffee beautifully. The musical wasn’t only about science. However, it did have plenty of facts for students to learn. It taught science in a new, fun way, instead of reading off a textbook. Putting a beat and melody to gene editing makes one see both science and music in different ways. It might seem that one would ruin the other. Athena’s island proved that wrong when they weaved education and music. (Of course, what else would you expect from a teacher?) The paintings, also, further supported the connections between the two.
Now, truthfully, how did the audience enjoy it? In the beginning, some students were confused about the sciencey plot, or were too busy with their friends and phones to notice the show. As the night wore on, students began to pay more attention to the musical. They started to appreciate and enjoy it. After the intermission, especially, the audience got more involved in the songs, clapping along and even occasionally singing along. The audience for more and more into the musical, paying attention and reacting to everything. Ultimately, the night needed with a standing ovation from students, parents, and teachers alike.
Overall, Athens’s Island was a success. It connected the entire school, and gave us entertainment along the way. We were taught morals and science all at once. The music was catchy and singing was strong. Thank you so much to Mr. Hudelson, Mr. G, Mr. Cottrell, the drama team, and everyone else who made this special musical possible, and good luck on the next one!
