Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Do you remember those days when the cool kids would all laugh at you for being “weird”? Or how about the time when that girl you liked knew you only as “that kid that lent me his pen”? Lauren Ianuzzi ’07 and Katie Chamblee ’07 are guessing that you do. They invite students to try out for their new original musical: “We So Are Them,” a hilarious take on the follies of middle school.
The musical, scheduled to debut on November 11, is a satirical representation of all of those things we wish we could forget. “Middle school is one three year long awkward pause,” says Chamblee, an English Literature major. The show’s characters are caricatures of all those stereotypes of junior high. There is the typical cool crowd, the misfits, and the sea of faces in between. “We came up with the idea one day when we were sitting in Tarble. We wanted to come up with the most ridiculous plot we could think of,” says Ianuzzi (a music major, singer, pianist and composer/songwriter) of the musical’s birth. “We So Are Them” is the Drama Board’s fall semester Mainstage show, receiving a generous budget and a weekend in LPAC.
And what would a great show be without a showstopping cast? If you want to let your inner drama queen (or king) out, sign up sheets for auditions are posted in Sharples. The auditions will be held today and Saturday in Lang. Experience is not necessary. “Anybody can try out, we want people to have fun,” add Chamblee and Ianuzzi. The cast will most likely consist of twenty people, fifteen speaking parts and a five member chorus. The auditions will consist of reading lines, and a short singing sample. Call backs will be held on Sunday and they will consist of dancing, acting, and singing numbers from the show. Auditions for musicians will be held at some point next week.
“We So Are Them” shows middle school in a “light hearted, poignant way,” says Ianuzzi. The musical is a fun way to look at one of the most awkward phases of our lives, and to laugh at them.