Held every other year by the Asbury Music Department, there is a tradition of putting on an opera with a cast made up entirely of students. This year, the show was “The Old Maid and the Thief.” The show is a lively comedy about a lady and her maid housing a handsome beggar, who turns out to be a local thief. The result is chaos revolving around the two, keeping the fugitive under wraps.
With only five members in the cast, the show’s auditions were crucial. Marie France Duclos, the director of the show, said, “The process of picking it is mostly figuring out who we’re going to have as a cast, and then we do auditions to make sure we have the right singers for the parts.” From there, work is done to learn the opera inside and out and to develop cast chemistry.
Mikah Saub, a Music Performance major, portrayed the maid. This is her second opera, but she feels this one has a special place in her heart already.
“My favorite memory from the show is probably getting to work with a smaller group. The first opera I was in was a bit of a larger cast, so just being in a group of four has really just allowed the group to solidify,” said Saub.
The shows themselves take months to prepare for. From learning the music to blocking the scenes, each step of the process takes a great deal of care and passion. However, this did not come without its challenges.
“This is not easy music, and our singers have to practice vocally, they have to correct their rhythmic timing and they have to work dramatically. [I]t’s hours and hours of practice,” said Duclos.
“When we had the week of ice, it was a little challenging for us because it cut off a couple of rehearsals because we couldn’t all be here,” said Duclos.
Students were also stretching their limits comedically. One example Duclos gave was a scene where the male lead comes in, and he’s supposed to be all wet. The two female leads had to give a very dramatic reaction to this, and they executed it perfectly, Duclos said.
It is also shows like these that help students gain confidence in their craft.
“Just getting the chance to perform has really helped my talent grow. I would also say that getting to do a new kind of role, typically, I play comedic relief roles previously. So getting the chance to do a more sophisticated role has really helped me,” said Saub.
All of this culminated in the final product, showing all of the hard work that the cast and crew put into it. Duclos expressed how confident she was in the show, “The students are ready and now for me, it’s just fun to watch because we’ve done the work. Whatever happens, happens. They’re going to be awesome.”
