By Anna Stuart ‘27
Director Vincent Whitman, who has been directing at CV for 10+ years, has run a strict program for many years. There were cuts in the audition process, and not everyone would get a role.
But this year, Whitman made the decision to run things differently. “This will be like an acting class. I want to teach you guys how to truly be good actors,” Whitman said at the first rehearsal of the year.
In past years, students would wait anxiously outside the auditorium for it to be their turn to audition. “We used to wait outside and practice our auditions, to make sure everything was perfect,” Sophomore Maddie Lehman said. But this year, Whitman had all the students sit in the seats and watch their peers perform their audition pieces for everyone. “No part of me wanted to audition in front of everyone.” Junior Clementine Johnson said.
This new audition format scared new and returning actors, but it brought everyone together more quickly than in past years. The actors bonded over the fear of performing alone in front of everyone. “I loved being able to cheer for other actors when they were done auditioning; it was so positive and motivating,” Lehman said.
Something that no one was expecting was for the directors to invite everyone who auditioned to come to callbacks. In years prior, only a select group of students were called back to perform a few more times. This year something huge changed – everyone who auditioned got a role in the show.
Returning actors were shocked by this change, but very excited. “It was relieving but also stressful when I heard everyone got a callback,” Lehman said. It was a chance to participate in the show and give it all they have, and also to just have fun being on the stage.
The directors assigned roles to who they thought fit the parts best. “Whitman told me he gave me this role to help me grow,” Junior Ilyana Neufeld said.
Rehearsals started soon after, and the directors decided to jump right into everything right away. “You guys will need to step out of your comfort zones, embarrass yourselves,” Whitman said. The actors pushed themselves, doing embarrassing and silly things in front of their peers, trusting that Whitman would shape them into better actors and actresses. The directors and actors are excited to put in the hard work to perform the show of Around the World in 80 Days in November.