Musical SnipITS Preview

Have you ever wanted to see a Pres musical or play, but been intimidated by the length of a show, or thought it would get boring? There is a solution that allows students to watch their classmates and friends on stage in a short show full of entertainment from start to finish.

Presentation’s International Thespian Society (ITS) puts on Musical SnipITS, an entirely student-run musical revue, each year. SnipITS is directed, stage managed, choreographed, sung, and acted by students who are members of ITS, and has performances on Feb. 7 and 8. ITS officer Emily Griffith said, “Normally, people just care about the songs in musicals. SnipITS lets the audience see a variety of songs from different shows, making it a really entertaining show.”

This is Pres’ fourth year putting on the show, which originated as a way for theater lovers to perform numbers from productions that Pres cannot produce either because the rights are not available or because the show requires logistical boy-girl ratios that Pres lacks. This year’s show does not have a theme, but past SnipITS have been themed “Forbidden Pres,” “Decades” and “Dark Edition.”

The ITS officers run these shows, with seniors Katcy Stephan and Amanda Camillo as directors, Rachel Whelan as stage manager, Emily Griffith as vocal director and Mandy Heiser (with Auti Kamal and Katarina Klask) as choreographers.  The officers got together with a list of song suggestions— after considering difficulty level, the number of people the song required and the style of music, the officers selected twelve songs for the show, not fitting them around any specific theme.

SnipITS provides opportunities for ITS members to see their own work on stage and direct their peers to produce a show. Emily Griffith said, “Working on SnipITS is really fun, but challenging. It’s hard to be a director-peer because we have to find the balance between authority and chill.”

The officers could create their own blocking and choreography, combining both older musicals like South Pacific to new shows like Legally Blonde. The show features a mixture of duets, trios, and group numbers, allowing more individuals to be featured. Students who have never been leads before can have the experience of being a lead in one of the numbers without doing the full show.

Club officer Mandy Heiser said, “It’s a very enjoyable, yet very complicated experience. Thankfully, the other ITS officers and I work together very smoothly and collaboratively. We’re all friends who know each other’s strengths and appreciate each other’s creativity.”

The wide variety of songs in this musical will appeal to all audiences, from first-time theatergoers to veterans. For those who do not know much about musicals, the show includes the songs “Bend and Snap” from Legally Blonde, “She’s in Love” from The Little Mermaid and Greenday’s “21 Guns” from the musical (yes, it is also a musical) American Idiot.

For those who like to watch dancing, “Buenos Aires” from Evita is being choreographed with salsa moves, while “At the Ballet” from Chorus Line is being danced en pointe by three Pres seniors. Other popular songs in this show are “In His Eyes” from Jekyll & Hyde and “Heart Full of Love” from Les Misérables.

This show, just a bit over an hour, will be fast-paced and entertaining from start to finish. The broad spectrum of songs provides something for all kinds of audience members. Musical SnipITS will be performed on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Valenzuela Theater. Ticket prices are $5 and can be bought at the door or from any ITS member.

Simply SnipITS

The curtains of the Valenzuela Theater opened upon two angels dressed in white shirts, black pants, halos and wings who were plotting over the lives of the humans they were about to create.

“So, women get to have the offspring.”

“The males will be really jealous.”

“So there has to be some kind of trade-off…like make it really painful…”

So began Simply SnipITS, a collection of scenes performed and directed by students. The International Thespian Society, or ITS, performs SnipITS each year with different themes.

This year had the distinction of a performance of an original scene written by Presentation seniors Jennifer Greenfield, Jacquelyn Pass and Kaitlyn Jensen. “The Greatest Play. Ever” centered around three American girls stuck with French actors who mistakenly believe that they must finish writing a play by morning, with hilarious results. “We started by brainstorming about the weirdest things that had ever happened to us,” explained Greenfield. “We figured that people always say, ‘Write about what you know.’ We know about weird and wacky stuff, and it just sort of evolved from there.”

Other scenes included Barbie and Ken, Semi-Superheroes and much more. Though the show was directed on only by students, they put together an entertaining night for viewers. “Directing a scene myself was challenging because it was just me, but I was able to get lots of input from the actors, which made the scene that much better,” said ITS officer and senior Nicki Affonso-McMorrow.

ITS will be performing many shows throughout the year; the ITS concert will be taking place at 7:30 in the Valenzuela Theater on October 1. Be sure to come and watch the talent of the Presentation actresses!