The Arts play an essential role in the student experience at Cary Academy, encouraging play, curiosity, experimentation and risk taking. In classes and in extra or co-curricular pursuits, we focus on building collaborative teams and ensembles as we work as a group of diverse individuals all committed to a common goal.

This month, we celebrate collaboration as we move towards opening night of The Music Man on February 7.  Audiences will witness the fruit of our labors during the performances, but they may not be fully aware of the months-long efforts of faculty, students, and volunteers in building this show. Here’s a snapshot of the various ensembles that have come together to bring this American classic to our stage:

Months of preparation for understanding the challenges of The Music Man were explored before the show was even announced.  The Design Team–consisting of faculty representing Theater, Chorus, Dance, Band, Orchestra, Visual Art, Technical Theater, as well as volunteers for costume design and construction, and a guest artist for set design–met weekly or even bi-weekly to search for a common understanding of the The Music Man world.

Using principles of design thinking, the team began with questions such as what does it look/smell/sound/feel and taste like. In-depth research on the cultural, architectural, linguistic, musical, and other roots of the musical informed their design decisions. These new-found understandings carried forward to auditions and rehearsals, where the real work of building collaborative teams began.

Student teams have worked tirelessly to flesh out the design concepts. These teams include the Art Crew, Tech Crew, Wind and String Ensembles, Stage Managers and, of course, Performers.  Prototypes have been made, tested and revised, demonstrating that the iterative process is essential to building a show. The aim is not to reproduce previous performances or films of this show but to make this production unique to these students and audiences at this time and in this space.

But beyond promoting a deep dive into the production process, something else happens that is the glue that holds such diverse people together. New friendships are forged; lessons of persistence and grit are found in every rehearsal. Each individual’s growth strengthens the ensemble and enriches all who witness the work.

Plenty of tickets remain for all performances. We’d love to see full houses for each performance of The Music Man!  Tickets are available here.