The Green Room Theater Company performed their first ever cabaret to open this year in the Black Box. It was called “Kaleidoscope.”

The students rushed to perfect their first ever cabaret show. It was all their first time working with such a diverse show. The clock was ticking with only three weeks to perfect lines, cues and musical numbers.

The crew picked apart pieces and portrayed them to their fullest potential. While all this was happening within the crew, director Cheryl Schwartz was to put to the challenge of picking pieces that fit actors as well as making the students feel comfortable and confident. The idea of the show was to capture empowerment.

“Three weeks is not a lot of time, and I think we were ambitious. I just kept telling myself I wish I had at least three more days because then I feel like not only would the students feel more confident and ready, but like, I would feel like I had done a better job preparing all of us for that. But at the same time, I knew that everyone was going to come together and everyone was going to figure it out,” Schwartz said. “I want the Green Room to be a safe space for our students to explore theater but also experiment and try to take risks that they normally can’t do in a traditional show. I want to help cultivate that and protect it but also protect them and make sure that they feel confident in what they’re putting on the stage.”

This show was an opportunity for students to succeed and display their talents. The show was an opportunity to reveal the maturity and leadership of the crew.

Both roles within the theater are held to similar expectations, and both perceive the show from the same point of view.

“It’s very interesting,” said assistant director Gustavo Calhoun. “Being a senior you kind of have to stand up and be a leader and be a role model.”

Four members of the crew were accepted on tech for the State Theater Show. They are Graham Gatwood, Rory Dwyer, Sean McNicholas, and Addison Kamilis. Holding the title of a participant in the State Theater Show causes other fellow crew members to view them as a leader within the company, gaining skills from a more professional standpoint as well as preparing for a show in a more professional manner. Students from all over Illinois are invited to be interviewed by professionals to see if they can help backstage,. It is an interview, and usually it takes a month for them to reveal who was accepted.

“Sometimes leadership is very stressful and painful, but you get to really see both fruits of accomplishment. Your personal labor and also you can take a little bit of pride in what your crew members are doing. It’s fun to watch people grow,” said former lighting crew leader and participant in the Theater State Show Graham Gatewood.

“Kaleidoscope” carried a lot of iconic pieces, from “Hamilton” all the way to “Dear Evan Hansen.” A crowd and cast favorite was definitely the song “Ex Wives” from the musical “Six.” “Ex Wives” was performed by Haley Polfliet, Mariah Lieberman, Rory Dwyer, Alexys Wiggles, Emily Meneses, Anahi Tenorio, Grace James, and Siena Pietraszak.

“It was such a fun number to be a part of! I loved getting to learn an empowering feminist number with some of my best friends, even if I didn’t get to perform it. It came together really well and was so cool,” said cast member Siena Pietraszak.

“‘Ex Wives’ is the longest song that we did. It requires the most stuff because it’s so iconic. And when something’s that iconic, everyone has like their own piece that needs to be an element. I’m happy with how it looked,” said State participant and crew head of lighting Sean McNicholas.

“‘Ex Wives’ just because it is such an iconic song and from such an iconic show, and one that we will likely not be able to produce anytime soon,” Schwartz said.

The company received a lot of positive feedback about the performance, and they were able to capture the essence that they wanted to project. The empowerment that was portrayed was definitely influential to the audience, and the mindset was contagious throughout the cast.

“Oh, I think it was like a slamming success without a doubt. The students put everything they had out on that stage, and the audience recognized it. I’ve gotten nothing but compliments from everyone who came to see it from administrators all the way down to family members and friends. So I think it was absolutely a success,” Schwartz said.