A Very GOA Disney Cabaret

Sophie Indiana Fischer ‘23
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Over the past year GOA moved mountains to work remotely and create two terrific virtual shows.  At long last, students now are able to perform and rehearse together in person, to produce a school-wide Disney-themed cabaret production!
Cabarets are a medley of different songs, scenes and dance numbers from different places that when combined, fit into a specific theme or script. Although it was not a standard musical, it has a plot and is certainly entertaining. The finished work will be premiered as a movie for the whole GOA community.

Both High School and Middle School students were allowed to participate in order to give everyone some form of an in-person show experience. It was designed to feel inclusive and collaborative as well as similar to a regular show during normal years. 
Ms. Mittleman, director for the cabaret, said, “since we know that all of our students have been craving arts experiences across all grades and artistic interests, we wanted to find something for this most unusual year that could accommodate all of the talents and creativity within GOA.” 
In addition to arts educators Mrs. Watson, Ms. Mittleman and musical director Mr. Kaminski, the GOA High School Arts Council also had influence in making crucial decisions for the show. 
While Mrs. Watson and Mr. Kaminski wrote the script, the Arts Council made a list of enjoyable songs to include in the production. They were also tasked with spreading the word to fellow students. 
Junior and Arts Council member Hannah Stoch said, “being on Arts Council this year and helping with song choice and certain creative direction that we wanted was a great experience!” 
After the Arts Council met and gave their list of songs to Mrs. Watson and Mr. Kaminski, they began to finalize the script. 
According to Ms. Mittleman, “this was all Mrs. Watson’s awesome brainchild!”
“Writing the script for the cabaret has been an interesting, challenging and somewhat organic process,” Mrs. Watson said. “By creating our own original production, we can more easily tailor-make the script to our students and our GOA strengths and resources.” 
Once the script was finished, the next step to create the cabaret was auditioning and casting. Instead of having the actors perform a song in front of the director and other members of the production team, such as in past years, actors sent in videos of themselves singing at home. Mrs. Watson, Ms. Mittleman and Mr. Kaminski then watched these recordings and fit the actors into specific songs that they felt showcased their voices, acting and dance skills nicely. 
When the casting process was completed, the next step was rehearsal. Like auditioning, the rehearsal process looked different than most years, primarily since there were more one-on-one rehearsals, as opposed to the usual full cast rehearsals. The cast, crew and the production teams were most excited for in-person rehearsals to begin, because once rehearsals started, so did all the fun.
Mrs. Watson said, “There are so many wonderful Disney songs that I can’t wait to hear our GOA students perform!”