Published: October 04, 2008 04:15 am         

Teen Talk: On The Go: Drama club was fun for all

I remember going to my school's production of "Grease" in third grade.

Though I realize now that I didn't understand a majority of the jokes, I fell in love with the musical, insisting to borrow it from the video rental store, watching it three times consecutively, and writing the lyrics to the countless catchy jingles in my diary.

When our drama club directors, Mrs. Melissa Jaquay and Mr. Keith Blankley, decided to do "Grease" again in the spring of 2008, I knew I had to try out.

I had never been a member of drama club before, but I opted to audition for the fall play, "M*A*S*H," to acclimatize myself to the "thespian life" before signing up for "Grease" in the spring.

Two of my good friends also tried out, and together, the three of us played Fritzi, Mitzi and Agnes, a troupe of uncoordinated tap-dancers sent to entertain the soldiers and staff of the Korean War surgical hospital.

It was fun; we spoke in squeaky voices, curled our hair into ringlets, and stumbled about on stage trying to tap-dance well enough to demonstrate our preparation, but badly enough to convey the gracelessness of our bumbling characters.

With the success of "M*A*S*H," I was able to go into my "Grease" audition with some confidence.

The next day, the roles were listed on a bulletin board outside Mrs. Jaquay's door.

I was Rizzo, the promiscuous, sardonic, quick-witted ringleader of the Pink Ladies, with a bad attitude and two songs.

My pink-jacketed disciples were Fiona Doherty as Marty; Mariah Clarke as Frenchy; Lindsey Cairo as Jan; and Addy Schneider as the goody-two-shoes new girl, Sandy Dumbrowski.

Our Greaser counterparts were Kenickie, played by Scott VanDerKrake; Doody, played by Matt Hazzard;

Sonny, played by Christian McGrath; Roger, played by Jon Graham; and the leader of the pack, Danny, played by Weston Johnson. Other big roles included Patty Simcox, the zealous, twittering, head cheerleader, performed by Remi Misciewisz, and patronizing dancing-queen Cha Cha de Gregorio, performed by Kendra Burst. It was obvious after only a few rehearsals that this was going to be fun.

Jimmy VanDerKrake, Richie Lantz and Nick Jordan, all members of the stage crew, helped Mr. Larry Carson saw in half, transport, and redecorate an old junkyard car, which we used for the scene in which Sandy and Danny go to see a movie at the drive-in. The car had working headlights and silver lightning bolts; it truly embodied "Greased Lightning."

Members of the stage crew pushed the car around on plastic scooters, and in one scene, Greasers subtly braced the vehicle with their hands while Scott VanDerKrake did a back-flip off its door. Mrs. Merrilyn Deusler made us satin Pink Lady jackets with our names on them "" some of which have been conspicuously missing from the drama club costume closet since the night of the last show. (Don't look at me.) Even seventh-grader Ethan Drugatz made a huge contribution in the light booth, from where he illuminated alternating halves of the stage during "Summer Nights," a task that proved more difficult than anyone imagined after a series of technical difficulties. On the night of the dress rehearsal, several of our key actors got sick, including Mariah, Matt and Kendra. But everyone rallied, and the show sold out night after night. Weston described his role in Grease as, "the most fun I've ever had," and we all agreed with him.

Through all the wardrobe malfunctions, technical troubles, sicknesses and character evolutions, we all had a great experience on the stage. We all inspired each other throughout the three months of rehearsals "" and, we hope, we inspired some third-graders too.

It's fall again, and we've begun rehearsing for our next show, "Get Smart," based on the sitcom by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. Since there are limited parts and a large drama club, most of the bigger roles have been double-cast. As a result, there will be four performances, with alternating casts, on Nov. 12, 13, 14 and 15. I'm looking forward to it; if it's half as enjoyable as "Grease," it should be a wonderful show.

Maggie Millner is a senior at Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School.