This year, the Riverside Brookfield High School Spring Musical will be “Guys and Dolls,” but for some of the cast members this won’t be their first time performing this musical. In fact, some of the cast members would have already performed in a production of this play during their middle school careers at L.J. Hauser Junior High School.
Some cast members in particular are seniors Ian Dimaano and Grayson Geiger who participated in both productions. Diamaano, who was originally in the ensemble, now plays Benny Southstreet in the RB production.
“Looking back on my middle school experiences in my shows, I didn’t really understand how much work I would have to put into productions as I got older” Dimaano said.
Geiger originally played Nathan Detroit and now is the chief police officer. This musical offered a great sense of nostalgia and opportunity for them. Along with the nostalgia, this show adds new acting methods that many of the actors have become accustomed to.
“The experience so far this year has been a lot of dancing, a lot of leaning, blocking lines, and how to act like your characters. Cause we’re all like New Yorkers in the 1900s, so we all have different accents. We all act differently,” Geiger said.
Both of these students had to learn and study different characters than what they had done back in their middle school days. So it being the same musical didn’t bore them, rather it excited them for this new start.
“I was very excited to be able to do it again in a more high school setting. I’m just very excited to play a different character from what I did back then. I get an entirely new experience of the play,” Geiger said.
Performing this play again allowed them to see how much different theater is between these stages of their acting careers. Originally, Dimaano had no experience acting until the plays at Hauser and only had musical experience with instruments. The first time around was very new to him, and there was so much more room for him to grow.
“I began to realize how much I love growing my musical skill sets during the long rehearsals and creating the most unforgettable memories with people who were as passionate in theater as I was,” Dimaano said.
This second time around they now get to be surrounded by people who take the productions much more seriously, since they are much older now. With that being said, everything including the acting is fairly different. There’s a much larger access to different materials since this is a much more high quality production than they had originally performed in.
“It’s more complicated dancing, because in middle school it’s like grade school kids. They’re pretty clumsy. It’s definitely a lot more intricate this time around, and the acting is better because we are older” Geiger said.
These new additions to the musical that they had not previously experienced provide a challenge for themselves as actors and give them more experience within this field. Although it can be challenging, it still is an exciting experience for them to relive their past experiences and create new memories.
“Having a push from my directors and the wonderful support of my friends creates more excitement as we get closer to the show,” Dimaano said.
The “Guys and Dolls” musical this year has really allowed them to see how different they are since they last performed it. It’s a meaningful way to end both of their senior years, as it is their last music performance at RB.
“It really hit me that I’ve grown a lot in these past four years, and I’m proud of how much I’ve learned as an actor, singer, and understanding of myself” Dimaano said.
