Exclusive interview with Mr. Lewis on what went on behind the curtain!
By: Benika, 12.2
In December of 2023, The Addams Family Musical took to the stage and entertained hundreds of children and adults alike with its dark comedic lines, awe-striking set and effects, and the impressive music score. Astonishingly, the company, orchestra, and crew were able to get the musical up and running in just short of four months. To take a closer look into how the chaos of it all came together, I interviewed Mr. Lewis, the director of the production.
“What was the process like when you had to get a two-hour musical approved?”
“We had to justify why we thought we could do a two-hour musical, and the thing was that we had obviously done a show here, and we teach you, so we knew that you could handle a two-hour musical […] We backed you guys (the students). We knew you could do it. […]. The biggest decision for us was can we do this in the time we do this in the time we’ve got with all the external pressures that you guys have- academia, other CCAS? […] But in order to produce something of quality, we all had to be in it from the start, hence why we auditioned in June, just to give ourselves a head start. Because if we had waited, we’d have found the production week or the lead up to the show very stressful.”
“How did you choose The Addams Family Musical as this year’s show?”
“Now we don’t just come up with a show, we look at who we’ve got because the best thing to do is to cast your production with the actors you’ve got. Don’t just go, “I wanna do this show,” because you might not be able to cast it. You might not be able to cast it. You might not be able to get students to fill those roles, they might not fit vocally, or acting [wise]. So, we looked at the Addams Family and we thought: “Well, they’re a bunch of quirky characters, that’s what Regents is all about. Our students are quirky characters.” […] The process was choosing a show that matched our students, going to senior management and saying: “Look, we think we can do this, and we think it should be secondary only, which is the way we used to do it about 10 years ago.
“What was the most difficult part of organising the show?”
“Tech is always going to be an issue because mainly we have to hire in a company just before we do a show. When you hire in a company, they don’t know the show. But one of the things I’m most proud of is how the students got in and stepped up and learned how to do sound and lighting. […]
(An extension of the previous question.) Was anything else leading up to the show difficult?
Probably the most frustrating part was wanting to rehearse with you guys and you’re off on a MUN conference or something. […] I think it was four storm alerts that ruined all rehearsals in a crucial time when we needed to get things done. […] I think one of the most frustrating things was changing people’s perceptions as well. This year we had better tech, we had better things on stage, better lighting, better costumes, makeup, all that sort of thing. But we had to charge for tickets and a lot of people were like, “why do we have to pay to go see the show?” And that was quite frustrating, having to justify that you guys- a very talented company, a great orchestra, good theatre, nice tech- that costs money.”
“What part of directing the show did you love the most?” “I always love tech week. I love when all the equipment arrive, when the musicians bring their instruments. We have the lights, we have the sound, and it all starts to come together. That for me is the magic moment. […] But also, tech week is the worst week because it’s so stressful and time consuming and you’re in ever minute. So it’s tiring, but it’s tiring in a nice way.”
“What’s your process when it comes to blocking out scenes with actors prior to rehearsals?”
“You have to have a clear idea about your set first. Now the set for Addams Family was quite big, but luckily we had it in there quite soon. Usually, in a lot of schools, you get the set the week before and you have to work through it very quickly. When I look through the script before I direct a scene, I like to look at the script, think about the set- have a picture of the set if I’ve got one- and just think about shapes. What are the audience gonna see? What’s gonna work well? What’s gonna be quite interesting? And just try to make a piece of theatre as interesting using different levels and less boring. Also, we talk about proxemics a lot. […] The distance between your actors speaks volumes to your audience. I like to sit back and I go, right, if I was in the audience, what would I want to see from this scene? How can I use the actors to get different messages across, sometimes without text, so blocking is very much visuals. Pictures. Moments. What are those moments gonna look like? Not worrying about the acting at that stage because it’s usually the initial process.
“What are some musicals that you would like to do in the future?”
“Well, I’m not sure if it’s going to work in this school, but do you wanna hear it? […] Do you know what my favorite musical is? […] This summer, coming back to London, having disappeared in the UK for 20 years, is the musical Starlight Express. […] All on rollerskates. All the actors skate. […] When I was 14-13? I saw Starlight Express in London. It was the first show I’d ever seen, and that’s what made me go “Wow. I wanna do this.””
BONUS: “What character in the Addams Family would you like to play and why?”
“I think the answer to that then would be two-fold. I think back then when I was working in the West End I would’ve loved to have played Gomez because I think his songs were amazing and I think the character was really a fun character. There were a lot more poignant moments between Wednesday and himself- which, I feel more now as the father of teenage daughters, if I played Gomez as a young man, single man, I don’t think it would’ve had that personal resonance. I think now, not because of how I look now, Fester.”
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