Our spring musical, Bare, is right around the corner, and our department can’t wait to see what’s in store. In case you didn’t know, Bare revolves around Peter and Jason- students at St. Cecilia’s, a Catholic boarding school- that are struggling with their relationship and feelings of homosexuality. Our students have put in a lot of work from the actors onstage to our technicians working behind the scenes. We caught up with a few of them to get a look into what the process behind Bare has been like.
The actors playing Peter and Nadia, Jeremy Coca and Jenna Leavitt respectively, each loved their roles well before they were cast. Leavitt shares what drew her to the role of Nadia explaining, “I’ve always connected to her in the way that my whole life I’ve never really felt thin enough.” Tapping into this part of her own story has been intense and tells about what that process has been like: “It’s been hard at times because in my personal life I try my best to love my body and myself, so when I have to access the darker parts of myself in rehearsal it can often drain me a little bit. It’s always important to be able to separate personal life from a character’s life before leaving the rehearsal space though, and I’ve learned to do that over time.” Coca also illustrates what his process has been like playing Peter: “It’s been a dream of mine for nearly half a decade. Many ups and downs along the way but overall, pure joy.” Bare has been a highlight in each of these actors’ journey here at Missouri State.
Caitlin Palmisano, the assistant director, has enjoyed her part in the process of Bare, but its not without its challenges. Being a student director can be difficult to balance, and Palmisano describes how that has affected her position: “A challenge that I have faced throughout the process is guiding the actors in their work where I am no more advanced in my process than any of my peers. It is difficult to feel comfortable giving notes to the cast when I am still learning as well.” However, she shares what makes this position gratifying: “My favorite part has probably been being able to exercise my analytical eye and learning from watching the actors grow as they develop their characters.” Bare has given her an opportunity to expand her skills in a new way.
With the show revolving around a Catholic boarding school, the lighting designer for Bare, Seth Brown, was inspired by the stained glass windows that are common among Catholic churches. He explains the significance of them and how they hold a deeper meaning behind the show: “Stained glass windows were used in the gothic era to help the church convert and maintain power over the common people. When they would walk into the church there would be a huge, colorful mosaic that seemed otherworldly to these people and made the church seem even more powerful.” He also reveals a deeper meaning to the colors in the lighting that connects back to the main conflict between Peter and Jason regarding their sexuality. He explains, “Mixing this idea with the fact that the mixing of colors, or the rainbow, is now heavily contributed to the LGBTQ+ community makes it a wonderful piece of imagery to build this world on top of.”
Bare the Musical opens Thursday, February 21 in the Balcony Theater, so be sure to get your tickets as soon as you can. Palmisano tells us what the team hopes the audience takes away from this powerful production: “The show is extremely emotional and very moving, but we hope the audience feels uplifted and inspired. This production displays a struggle for acceptance that the audience should recognize and learn from.”