Juxtaposed to the green, vibrant island of Auradon, lies a dark and mysterious aura lurking through the air. A mystical cloud of dread and captivity reigns over a small island isolated from the rest of Auradon. Graffiti and run-down buildings slowly rot the island to its core. Welcome to The Isle of the Lost, home to four prominent villains: Maleficent, Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella de Vil, and their kids, Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos. Up until now, the four teenagers have never stepped foot off the Isle of the Lost until King Ben’s proclamation allowing four villains to encounter the world of Auradon Prep. With Ben as their guide, this musical takes on a new approach to the world of “Descendants;” however, behind the curtains stand two more teenagers encountering a new world. Tamia Anderson (12) and Sarah Cameron (12) serve as the directors for this musical. From being on stage to now directing, welcome to “Descendants: The Musical”— senior director edition.
“The play is a theater version of Disney’s ‘Descendants,’” Anderson said. “It’s from a movie everyone loves and has songs the majority of people know, so it will be easy to learn and enjoyable to be a part of.”
Throughout the history of White Station High School (WSHS) theater, a senior’s final farewell project is to write and direct a one-act play. However, this year, with the guidance of theater teacher Camryn Pitts, Anderson and Cameron will embark on a different journey by directing a play of over 30 students. Since the beginning of the year, Pitts wanted two students to direct the final musical of the school year, and after their performance in plays and proposal submission, Anderson and Cameron were chosen. After “Mean Girls: The Musical” became the most attended play in the history of WSHS, the theater team still wanted to produce one more parting performance. Originally they were going to do a Jr. play because it is easier and less complex to direct, but Cameron believed they could do a full musical.
“It wasn’t originally decided that we would do ‘Descendants,’” Cameron said. “We had to pick a show from a list and they were all like Jr. shows, and me being the ambitious person I am decided, ‘hey, maybe it would be fun to do a full-length musical.’”
After looking through multiple plays and consulting with Pitts, Anderson and Cameron came to the decision to do “Descendants.” Once they got the rights and music to the play, they quickly started the casting process. Originally they expected around 15 people to audition, but after the success of “Mean Girls: The Musical,” over 30 people auditioned. For the audition process, each individual was asked to sing a pre-rehearsed song given by the directors. Then they had to cold read for different parts until Anderson and Cameron felt they could see part of the actors as the characters. Even though they themselves are both students, the two tried their best to be impartial in the selection process.
“We did two days of auditions where we had them learn two different types of songs: ‘Did I mention’ for the guys and ‘Evil Like Me’ for the girls,” Cameron said. “We had them read aside with us and we would be like ‘could you play this character for us.’ Then we would read with them and [we] would figure out where there would be the most compatib[ility].”
Besides having to direct and pick the cast, Anderson and Cameron also needed to find someone to choreograph. Ollie Hale (10) played Regina George in “Mean Girls: The Musical” this past spring and serves as the choreographer for “Descendants: The Musical.” Hale has been dancing since she was five and recently started competitive dance a couple years ago. Even though this is her first year at WSHS and she is only a sophomore, Hale has been choreographing for senior theater shows since she was in the eighth grade. Hale is the sole choreographer for the musical and has been preparing sequences for all the songs since the beginning of the year.
“When Sarah presented me with the opportunity to choreograph for this lovely show, I decided that it would be a great opportunity to take that chance,” Hale said. “I go through [the choreography] on my own and record each one of them as well. Then when I teach them to the groups, depending on who is doing what, I watch them thoroughly. I’ve done this before for other shows [and] if there is anything small that needs to be changed, I change them. If there is anything I notice people can’t do as well, I fix them slightly so that it still looks impressive but is slightly easier.”
With the cast list released at the end of March and the play slated for early May, Anderson, Cameron and Hale have just under a month to bring this play together. Usually a musical production takes at least two months just for on-book rehearsal, learning songs, choreographing and blocking. However, the turnover for this play is different. Actors will spend the whole month of April and bits of May memorizing their lines and dance moves to bring the production of “Descendants” to life. The original “Descendants” movie was watched by many students growing up and this play is meant to pay homage to the childhood villains that once ruled students’ television screens.
“[The play] is about the kids of the villains from classic Disney stories and the heroes’ kids,” Cameron said. “They don’t like each other at first, but [overtime] learn to accept each other and coexist.”
“Descendants: The Musical” explores the lives of four teenage villains who feel isolated from the royals surrounding them. A year ago, they would have never thought that they would be around the same people who shunned them. Through song and dance, they revolt and express their feelings that have been bottled up for years. Over the course of the play, they slowly assimilate to their new lifestyle, and by the end, befriend the royals. Throughout Anderson and Cameron’s high school run, theater has helped them acclimate to WSHS and make new friendships. Most of the “Descendants” cast has never acted in any musical before. However, just like Auradon Prep brought villains and royalty together, Anderson and Cameron’s goal is to bring students from all walks of life together for one final senior-led, farewell production.
“This is the first thing I have been given a director role for, but no I am not nervous at all,” Anderson said. “I’m excited to see what direction me and Sarah take this show in. There are lots of people in this production who have never been in theater before, and I hope we can get a lot of them to stay in theater and be a part of White Station’s Thespian Society.”