Members of GA’s well-renowned Belfry Club put together a remarkable performance of Into the Woods Jr earlier this May. In addition to the crew’s talented singing, acting, and dancing, which made the musical an amusing and delightful experience, the cast exceeded expectations by bringing their stage outdoors for a live audience. Although the pandemic has taken its toll on most performing arts programs, the supporters of the Belfry club have remained creative and resilient, staying true to the saying, “The show must go on!”
Following their winter digital performance called “The Internet is Distract — OH Look a Kitten,” members of the Belfry club rallied together to have a show outdoors as COVID restrictions began to ease up. Despite these unprecedented conditions, the production crew, led by Technical Director Paul Moffitt, constructed an excellent stage outdoors using the natural landscape to shape the set. In terms of the actual performance, many members of the cast portrayed roles from classic fairy tales such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel.
The show also featured excellent vocals in songs like “A Very Nice Prince” sung by Belfry co-captains Maeve Diver ‘21 and Rachel Roth ‘21, “Giants in the Sky” starring Danny Hernandez ‘23, and “Agony” performed by both Vance Thorpe ‘23 and Adhi Gadre ‘23. Each scene held the audience in suspense as the Baker and his wife (Will Cooper ‘22 and Maeve Diver) made it their mission to break the evil Witch’s (Madison Quinter ‘24) curse that prevented them from having any children.
While the show was a great success, performing outdoors required a lot of work and adjustments from all the members of the Belfry club. The cast had to practice in an array of weather conditions, dance on uneven terrain, and enunciate their lines through a mask which, according to Will Cooper, required “working a lot on breathing techniques and projecting.” He also said, however, that the “long practices and conditions allowed the crew members to become like a family.” Furthermore, Belfry veteran Rachel Roth, who played Cinderella, noted how “the adaptation from stage to the outdoors was brilliant, and being able to use the trees and hills drove the performance! Plus, it added to the craziness of the plot.”
In her final year at GA, Rachel shared that the most important thing she has learned from Belfry is to never take for granted the time spent doing what you love, and that no matter what you will always find your community. Belfry director K Richardson concluded that even though “it was not easy doing the show, acting with a mask on and needing to project, but despite this, they still wanted it so much” and this passion for performance was what ultimately led to the production’s success. Overall, Belfry should be proud of their work! As the next performance season comes around, everyone should look forward to yet another great show from GA’s Belfry club.
