Last week, F&M players put on the show Into the Woods. The musical, which ran from January 16th through 18th, follows the stories of Cinderella, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Baker and His Wife. Every character in the story is in search of fulfilling a wish. However, once the characters get their wishes, not everything is “happily ever after” as expected.
In addition to a great musical score, fantastic acting, and an incredible set, Into the Woods has a strong moral: be careful of what you wish for, because sometimes your wish might come true. After the show, I was able to speak with Marisa Kaplan about her experience acting in Into the Woods. Marisa is a sophomore, and is double majoring in Theater and Psychology. She played Cinderella’s mother in the show.
1. Hi Marisa. Amazing job tonight. Could you tell me about your role as Cinderella’s mother in the show?
a. Thank you so much Caroline! Sure, I loved playing Cinderella’s mother in Into the Woods! My role was really unique, because Cinderella’s mother is traditionally dead in the story. Cinderella’s mother is wise and all-knowing. She gives Cinderella advice in times of need. Without her, I doubt that Cinderella would have found her prince in the end. I felt empowered playing a character with so much influence on the storyline. The role had a lot of singing, which I really enjoyed as well.
2. What did you have to wear for your role as Cinderella’s mother?
a. For the show, I wore a long white dress with full-length sleeves, and went barefoot. I wore white because I was playing a ghost. It was a great costume and I really enjoyed wearing it.
3. How did you prepare for your part in the show?
a. Cinderella’s mother is mostly a singing role, so to prepare for the role I had to learn a lot of music. The cast started rehearsing for Into the Woods in October. During that time, I would meet with the cast about once a week to practice.
b. During Tech Week, the week before the show opened, the rehearsals got much more intense. Tech Week started on January 7th was required to come into school early, during our winter break. During Tech Week, we would rehearse every single day for an entire week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. I would run through different scenes with the cast, starting at the beginning, and stopping at the end. It was a lot of hard work, but so much fun.
4. What made tech week fun?
a. Tech week was a blast. We all worked really hard, but it was worth it. Also we became a lot closer to one another as a cast during that time because we were rehearsing every day. Before spending an entire week together, I wasn’t as good friends with a lot of my co-actors. After though, we all became really close.
5. What was your favorite part about being in the show?
a. My favorite part of being in the show was absolutely being back stage, with the chorus members. We called it “the chorus cave” and we had a blast together. We’d talk a lot, take pictures, watch videos online and sing. Hanging out with my friends backstage was definitely the best part of my experience in the show.
6. What is your advice for people who are interested in theater, and want to get involved here at F&M?
a. I say go for it, audition for F&M Players! The people in F&M Players are so awesome and so welcoming. They become a second family and they really want to see you succeed. You don’t need any prior background in theater- try out for a show- I promise you wont regret it.