Sophomore Michael Darmon steps onto a dark, blank stage, rehearsing the lines in his head for “Urinetown” by Greg Kotis. Brainstorming the possible ways he can make his acting skills even stronger, Darmon acts out his new part over and over, preparing for rehearsal later that night.
Darmon began by taking acting lessons in fifth grade. This semester, he was finally ready to play a huge role when he acted as Oliver de Bois in Legacy’s first production of the 2013- 2014 school year, “As You Like It”.
“I like it because I just love being on stage with all of the attention,” Darmon said. “Making new friends and meeting other people with large personalities is fantastic.”
Darmon is also in band and balances school and two different rehearsals everyday. Between band rehearsal and the “As You Like It” rehearsal, he said he had plenty of time to do homework and to get other things done for himself.
“Of course I’d love to continue acting in the future and maybe even as a profession,” Darmon said. “I have other plans in case that doesn’t turn out the way I want it to.”
Actors and actresses are constantly moving around and using props to express what their specific character is doing. Occasionally, actors begin to sweat from all the speaking, moving around and stress to hold the show together.
“It’s an amazing stress reliever,” Darmon said. “When I’m up there acting, I stop thinking about all of my problems, so I can portray the character better.”
Theater will perform the musical “Urinetown ” in January, in which Darmon will play the role of “Lockstock.”
“Lockstock is an interesting person all around because he’s a corrupt cop who is technically siding with the ‘bad guys,’” Darmon said. “He’s a pretty nice guy in general, so we are different in the evil way, but in another way we are pretty similar.”
Since “Urinetown” is a musical, there were different types of new roles that were needed from the fine arts department. Band members were asked to audition to play the music and certain props were made from art students.
“This play is a lot more difficult than any other because of the vocal chords, music and some vocally challenging songs.” Darmon said, “but it’s definitely worth it, and it’s a ton of fun.”
