The Great American Trailer Park Musical carries a small cast of flourishing personalities on stage. Having been under the tutelage of Director, Thomas Murdock, who had been given the responsibility of preening the young stars, Daejah Hawthorne, Jesus Matta, Ishmiah Dado, Sophia Chavez, Kendra Del Toro, Alexandrea Phillips, and Julie Jachym, along with stage manager, Jill Cutro, have been meticulously prepping for the musical of a lifetime. Due to make its opening night on April 7th, the Stage Wright production allows visitors the chance to see the humorous and tragic sides of what trailer park life has to offer.
In ever-so-sunny Florida, playing home to a trio of dysfunctional women known as the narrators, The Great American Trailer Park Musical tells the story of a married man suddenly split at heart by the appearance of a seasoned stripper.
For the entirety of the first rehearsal, the cast starts the monotonous process of reading, memorizing, and getting used to their lines.
All work and no play, musical director, Paul Scavone, hands the cast a CD carrying the tunes for the choreography they would soon have to learn. In this particular case, the lyrics are a handy way of adding depth to a moving storyline.
“This is only a tool for learning the music,” he says, but the message to “make it your own” is implied.
Inspired by a successful project directed by Murdock from a previous year, Jesus Matta says he had jumped at the chance to audition. “Tom [Murdock] encourages us all, as actors, to be very methodic in how we have to know our character's whole history and relationships to one another, as well as what we want, why we want it, and how those wants drive us in each scene,” he says.
“As time went by, I started to understand the characters more and more and see them as real people instead of a bunch of exaggerated characters,” says Dado.
Jachym adds, “Acting is a helpful tool. It teaches you how to interact with people, how to manage your time, and how to be more patient.”
For most individuals, there may be small stutters and mishaps on the first day of a read through. Working as a team to push past minor mistakes and shaky vocals, it seems before even week one of rehearsals manages to hurdle by, the actors connect. “I knew right away that the cast was going to become a huge family. I've definitely become closer to this cast as the days go on. I love each and every one of them,” says Hawthorne.
After the next few read throughs, they introduce both dancing and singing into the stage rehearsals. There, the cast takes the liberty of practicing on set with tape on the floor in place of the yet-to-be-installed prop trailer houses. “I couldn’t be more thrilled with the cast,” says Director Tom Murdock.
The show’s enjoyment stems not only from the humor associated with the classic image of a trailer park, but also from the black comedy cleverly masked within the script. Taboo concepts mixed with crude jokes may have most assuming that it is not a classy musical. They would be right. However, The civility of the plot does not matter; the mix of off-jokes and fantastically timed singing will guarantee to thrust the audience into a state of wonder nonetheless.
“This show is for adults. Specifically, adults with crude humor,” Dado cheekily adds. “We say bad words.”
“Every show has a message, even the most inane. There’s a message and it’s their job to get that across,” says Musical Director Scavone.
On stage, even with the continuous stress of being both a student and actor, talent has the opportunity to blossom when the cast takes charge of their roles.
“I have two jobs, classes, and friends and family to balance along with the rehearsals. In the midst of the chaos of everything, I would go to rehearsals and just escape from it all. It was something that I looked forward to,” says Del Toro. Feeling similar, Dado states “winging it” seems to be the key.
With the rush of finding musical accompaniment, taking critique, practicing, dancing, and analyzing the script, the process can be a slippery slope. However, the actors are not the only important elements of a show. For the musical to succeed, actress-turned-Stage Manager, Jill Cutro monitors and guides the seemingly non-stop rehearsing of the young actors. If she is not directly involved with stage direction, she takes her role as their regular audience member who jots down notes for a later critique whilst enjoying being a part of the stage family.
“I love them [the cast]! They’re extremely talented and focused,” Cutro adds. “Director Tom Murdock is someone I especially look up to. He has influenced me a lot as an actor during the time I’ve spent at Wright.”
Del Toro says, “I auditioned for ‘The Great American Trailer Park Musical’ for so many reasons. I wanted to overcome my fear of public speaking, I wanted to break out of my shell...and I wanted to enjoy the experience.”
Alas, any negative preconceived notions of ‘drama life’ for this cast can be put to rest. Matta says, “You hear about how cutthroat and competitive the theater world is. Walking into a situation like this, one might be a little apprehensive of having to deal with egos, diva attitudes, and actors trying to constantly one-up one another. But this cast, and I'm not trying to be cheesy or overly sentimental here, is made up of the sweetest, funniest, most supportive folks you could ever hope to meet.”
Currently, “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” promises to be ridiculously entertaining with tickets selling at $5 for elders and students with proof of ID. For the average Joe, the official price stands at $10. The show opens on April 7 at 2:00 pm. April 8, 9 and 14-16 starts at 7:30 pm.