Inside South’s auditorium, the stage is far from empty. The set of Working resembles a piece of modern art, surrounded by 100 folding chairs, awaiting an audience.
Catharine Rademacher has been teaching theatre for 25 years – she’s no stranger to the stage. Rademacher leads Theatre South, a group open to any student who wishes to participate. Rademacher has directed several plays and musicals during her time at South, including Thoroughly Modern Millie, Bye Bye Birdie, The Diary of Anne Frank, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This February, Theatre South will present Working, a musical written by Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, James Taylor, and Mary Rodgers. Theatre South’s production will also include two numbers composed for the show by Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of the Broadway hit Hamilton.
“I selected Working because I was looking for a very intimate show,” says Rademacher. The musical follows the stories of 40 characters throughout their workdays, performed in a series of monologues and songs – this production, however, has a small cast of eleven. Each student plays multiple roles. Sophomore Calvin Prenkert plays three parts in the production, as well as several ensemble characters.
Portraying multiple characters in one show is no easy task. Working has presented several new challenges for Prenkert.
“The biggest thing I’ve had to adapt to is the staging because it’s in the round,” said Prenkert. ‘In the round’ refers to a stage where the performers are surrounded by audience on all sides, as opposed to the more traditional audience who faces the performer straight on.
Sophomore Taylor Harmon, who also plays multiple parts in the show, agrees that theatre is a challenge.
“Being involved in theatre is beneficial for students because it not only teaches them to collaborate with one another, but it teaches focus, discipline, and problem solving skills,” said Harmon.
This production is a special collaboration, too. For the first time, Theatre South is working closely with University Players, a theatre group comprised of Indiana University students. The experience has been “awesome,” according to Rademacher.
Theatre South alumni Devin May and Matthew Weidenbener approached Rademacher this past summer about collaborating, and as a result, they agreed to unite to create Working. IU student Claire Logan is the director for the show, Weidenbener is the choreographer, and Richard Baskins Jr. is the music director. The diverse group of people working to create the musical makes the production unique, but drawing audiences for lesser known titles can be difficult.
“This show has a universal storytelling appeal that can connect to anyone,” said Harmon.
Prenkert agrees, encouraging any who are interested in “sitting back and enjoying” the show to attend.
“People should come see Working because it’s a fantastic show and the cast and crew have worked very hard on it … it conveys many messages and life lessons throughout, and can be relatable to most audience members because of the subject matter,” Prenkert said.
There are four opportunities to see Working, beginning with the opening performance on Friday, February 25th at 2:00 p.m. The show will run the same day at 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, February 26th at 2:00 p.m. The final performance will be the following Friday, March 3rd at 7:00 p.m. Tickets for all performances can be purchased at musicalartstix.com.
