Honing their passions

Coral Wilson

The curtains weren’t opening in time, the props weren’t in place and

the students were still forgetting their lines. But the overall

sentiment was mutual -- the production would come together in the

end.

Ethel R. Dwyer Middle School’s cast and crew of 60 students were

in their last week of rehearsal for the musical “Guys and Dolls

Junior.”

“Tech week is usually the week that all the magic happens,”

choreographer Natalie Kollar, 17, said.

Kollar and the tech crew were students from Huntington Beach High

School’s Academy of the Arts who came to help out. The collaboration

has provided a learning experience for students from both schools,

director Laura Canzone said.

The students discussed the placement of chairs and costume

changes. And as they ran through several scenes, Canzone prompted

them from backstage by calling out missed lines.

It was time for the “hot box scene” and half of the cast sat in

the theater seats to evaluate their classmates. The theater filled

with music but the curtain stayed shut.

“Great job,” the students called out. “We couldn’t see it, but it

was great.”

The students found amusement in every mistake.

The large red curtain muffled giggles and the noisy shuffling of

chairs.

“Mics are on,” Canzone said. “And curtain.”

Assistant choreographers Stephanie Hunter, 13 and Heather

Docherty, 13, called out advice.

“Over-exaggerate your expressions guys,” said Stephanie Hunter,

13, assistant choreographer. “Everyone do the hat thing together.”

Despite all the laughter, the hard work was apparent.

Steven Rentas, 14, said the production had taught him important

lessons such as patience, respect and working together.

“My mom always said I would be a good actor and I never believed

her until now,” David Skulavik, 14, said. “I found out that I can

actually be a different person than I am.”

For many students the performance provided training for an

eventual career in acting.

“This is my passion -- dancing, singing and acting,” Hunter said.

Looking on with a few more years of experience, Kollar said the

students demonstrate amazing talent but the main thing they lacked

was a cohesiveness that comes with maturity.

“It took me four years of high school and it wasn’t until my last

performance that I understood it’s not just about me, it’s about

everybody,” she said.

That is a lesson that she tries to pass on to the students, but

she said it may be something that just comes naturally with time.

Until then, Rentas would just concentrate on the one line he said

he keeps forgetting.

And the cast would work toward making it through the next week

smoothly.

But there were always those lingering fears.

“What if there is a power outage?” Sare Barillas, 14, said. “What

if there is a tornado? It won’t happen, but ... “