Multimedia final year students Orfhlaith Gannon and Lauren O’ Mahony are two of DCU Drama’s ultimate Girl-Bosses and are the co-directors of the Drama Production, ‘Hey Jude’, which will be performed Thursday 22nd in the Venue 7 pm. We here at Her-Campus HQ had the pleasure of interviewing the two girls and even got some sneaky information on what to expect throughout the show. I for one, am ever so excited to see this!
1. Hey Girls, thank you so much for joining us here at HC HQ, can you tell the readers a little bit about the storyline of Hey Jude?
‘Hey Jude’ is a musical that we’ve adapted from the movie ‘Across the Universe’. Filled with the music of the Beatles. It’s set in the 1960’s and follows the story of Jude, who travels from Liverpool to America to find his Dad, but ends up finding himself a best friend, an amazing gang of friends and the love of his life. You become immersed in a world obsessed with the Vietnam war, the anti-war movement and love love love!
2. What made you both want to produce and direct the production this semester?
Lauren: I got involved in drama last year and got to help out in pretty much all aspects of putting a show together, except for directing! I fell in love with the movie and could imagine a play inspired by the Beatles being such a hit in DCU!
Orfhlaith: Last year I co-directed Romeo and Juliet and it was my first time experiencing being on that side of a production and I loved every minute of it! When ‘Hey Jude’ was chosen as one of the productions, I got so excited! Lauren had introduced me to the movie and as we started discussing the staging, we knew we had to apply to co-direct.
3. With any big role, there are major fun parts and some challenging. What have been the most challenging aspects you both have faced?
Orfhlaith: For me, the most challenging part was getting the music right. The music is such an important part of the show and we wanted to make sure we showed off how talented our cast and band are without taking from the storyline. But it was very exciting when we put the band and cast together and it SOUNDED AMAZING.
Lauren: With regards to the technical side of the production, I was a bit sceptical when we first started as I wasn’t sure how lighting and sound was going to work out. Figuring out the best way to balance the band and cast’s audio levels was a little daunting, but lucky for us our band knew what needed to be done so we worked it out together. We also managed to nab the best lighting designer in town, so no doubt Riain will light the show up beautifully as usual!
4. It’s so exciting Hey Jude is being performed in the Venue, anything audiences can expect from the new stage set up?
We’re so delighted to be Drama’s first production in the Venue! It actually suits us so well for this show, as we have our band on stage with the cast. Having the extra space the Venue provides gives both band and cast lots of room for grooving. It’s great that we’re able to put a show on in the U, people can just grab a pint in Nubar & hop on over!
5. How have you found working with both each other and with the cast?
Lauren: The cast has been amazing from the get-go. They really have made each character their own & oh man can they sing! Rehearsals have run pretty smoothly, thanks to our amazing stage managers Bonnie & Dylan McClorey! They’ve been keeping rehearsals on track, organising our props, set and costumes, and have done a great job of keeping us sane throughout it all! Directing this show with my best friend has been so much fun, I think we make a pretty good team!
Orfhlaith: We had such a short amount of time to put this show together as our auditions took place at the start of October and it has been incredible to see the show come together in this short space of time and this is all thanks to out superb cast and band. They have worked so well with us, and have made the whole process incredibly fun. Working with Lauren is the easiest part of the show we are lucky to have had the same vision for the show and now that it’s coming together we are like super proud mamma bears!
6. What is your go-to Beatles song? The Karaoke night you hosted in Cat and Cage was a great success.
Lauren: That’s a tough one! After this play, I’m going to have to say I want to hold your hand. We slowed the song right down for the play, a lovely bassline strums along while the character Prudence belts out the love song, I get shivers every time!
Orfhlaith: My favourite song just keeps changing, ‘something’ has always been a personal favourite but the cast and band have made me question it so many times. From our epic Sadie absolutely smashing ‘Help’ to Lucy’s gorgeous ‘If I fell’ and everything between my favourite song is changing daily.
7. If you could be one character in the play for a day, who would it be and why?
Orfhlaith: Ohh that’s really tough because all of the characters have their own personal struggle. But I think I would love to be Max for a day, he’s just the type of person that has the best stories, spontaneous and energetic there is no stopping that boy, who’d have a great day for sure!
Lauren: I would definitely be Sadie. She’s such a girl boss. She oozes confidence and talent, with a sexy New York accent, and the voice of an angel.
8. And lastly girls, both of you separately, describe in six words or less, why our HC Readers should attend Hey Jude.
Orfhlaith: It’s the Beatles! GET HYPED!
Lauren: Come twist & shout with us!!
‘Hey Jude’ is on Thursday, 7 pm, in the Venue, DCU! Tickets are available here – https://dcusu.ticketsolve.com/shows/873596102
Get them ASAP as they are selling like crazy!
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