This spring, Carmel Christian High School performed the musical production of “Anastasia.”  The inspiration for this show stemmed from the director, Allison Sanderson, with the assistance of the Director of Fine Arts, Christina McCorkle. Sanderson shares, “After doing ‘Mary Poppins’ last spring, we wanted to do something more challenging.” Sanderson and McCorkle desire to bring a variety of different styles to the stage, examining each cast member’s previous theatre experience in high school when deciding on future performances and productions. Both saw how the talented, elegant girls planning to audition could play numerous characters featured in the show as well as how the program’s new wave of spirited boys could handle the musical’s difficult roles.

Behind the Scenes: 

Sanderson shares that when going into auditions, the panel had no idea who was going to be in which roles. Individuals such as Tyler Connaughton surprised the directors and blew them away in auditions. The first round ended, and the directors still did not know who was going to be two of their key roles, Gleb and Anya. When Sanderson issued a callback, Savannah Robin and Tyler Connaughton stole the stage, and she knew she found her perfect matches. 

Hours of planning and building set pieces went into the production of the show. Because the production undergoes a twenty-year time jump from past to present, Sanderson envisioned a simple set with projections to integrate various locations. “I wanted to let the costumes tell the story. The costumes painted a picture of what the world looked like,” she stated.

Both McCorkle and Sanderson had distinct visions for the costumes for the show. Vintage dresses were taken from Etsy and other antique shops. Sanderson had a very specific vision in mind for Anya’s costumes. She wanted her dress for the ballet scene to be sleek and for her red ball gown to be elegant and grand. “All of the gold designs on Anya’s dress were hand painted. Half of the cast took turns hand painting her dress,” Sanderson said. She loved how the cast took on the challenge of crafting costumes and being a part of the whole process. Regardless of their role, cast members sewed, bedazzled and altered their costumes. Not only did the costuming process complete the vision Sanderson had, but the cast also had a sense of ownership and accomplishment through the hard work of creating their costumes. 

Sanderson’s main takeaway from the entire show was how the Lord orchestrated the productions. To sum it all up, she stated, “I learned to let go and let God. It was so clear that He had gone before us. When all things were against us, he helped us overcome it and seek Him.” The cast was a very special group to work with. She loved being able to spend time with the seniors during their last performances. She describes the dynamic of the cast as a “close-knit group,” which was clear from the Saturday performances. “We had sick cast members and had to revise things two hours before the show,” she said. “It was so amazing to see everyone come together in prayer.” Sanderson felt that the cast trusted her and one another, which made the show a unique experience.

The production of “Anastasia” differs from the musicals Carmel has done in the past because of the nature of its material. There had to be a level of maturity of the students to tell the story. Sanderson shares that she never thought she was as good as other directors. After completing the show, she feels as if they “hit a stride.” 

The Production & Cast

Sanderson and McCorkle’s casting was well chosen this year, and this play was one of Carmel’s best. The main leads were Savannah Robin, Karleigh Robin, Dylan Wilson, Anna Jernigan, Tyler Connaughton and Caeden Moore. 

Savannah, the lead of the play, shined brightly on stage. She played Anya, the main character who, in the story, had to find her identity. Savannah had had an affinity for the show, so her role as the lead was special for her final Carmel production. She said, “It was really exciting when I found out I got it. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I knew that I had so many people on my side, like Mrs. Sanderson.” Savannah embodied the character of Anastasia so well that the audience could feel the struggle, strife, emotion and final restoration of her story.

Karleigh Robin, who played the role of the Empress, had to adapt to playing an older lady. When asked how she felt about being cast as the Empress, she said, “I was scared when I first got it because I knew it was going to be challenging. I was like, ‘How am I going to look old?’” Karleigh had already played an old lady in the previous play, ‘Mary Poppins,’ but this was a new challenge as she was one of the leads. Karleigh became paramount Empress and was captivating in her grief and longing for reconciliation. The Robin sisters emotional and profound final performance on Carmel’s stage left many in the crowd teary-eyed and inspired. 

Anna Jernigan, who was the star of last year’s play, remained a vital presence in the stage this year. She played Countess Lily, who served as a confidant and helper to the Empress, Karleigh. Jernigan willingly accepted the challenged of this role and embodied the spunk and personality of Lily. When asked about her acting, she had to say, “Acting is something that continues to surprise me with its challenging elements. I think that people don’t always understand how much the show challenges you as a person much more than as a performer.”

Dylan Wilson played another key character in the show, Dimitri, who was using Anya to get out of Russia but ended up falling in love with her. Wilson hoped to get the role of Dimitri, but he did not know whether or not he was going to receive the role. When he found out that he was going to have one of the leads, he knew the amount of time and effort needed to put from past experience in the previous plays. “There’s a major time commitment involved, often up to 16 hours a week, during the normal rehearsal process. Then, the week leading up to opening night, rehearsals last until 9:30 at night each day,” Wilson stated. Though the commitment is intense, Wilson pulled off the passionate love interest of Anastasia perfectly.

Another well-known and beloved member of Carmel’s productions is Caeden Moore who took the stage as Count Vlad. Count Vlad, whose role was to help Dimitri and Anya get across the border to Paris, was also known for being a kind of shyster and the comic relief of the play. Moore appreciated the light-hearted and somewhat goofy characteristics of Vlad and was eager to showcase the humor through his role. However, even though playing Count Vlad was similar to his personality, there were still some challenges that Moore had to overcome in the role, such as voice and the size of the character. “Usually guys who play Vlad are baritone and bigger when I’m more of a bare tenor/tenor. But I enjoyed figuring out how to convey that role from what I have,” Moore said. Moore brought countless laughs to the audience night after night. 

Many of the members have been in previous plays or even starred in productions; however, Tyler Connaughton was completely new to the stage. Connaughton had never done a play before, yet since this was his senior year, he decided to step outside his comfort zone. Connaughton had originally auditioned to be in the ensemble, but Sanderson and McCorkle saw potential in him and cast him as the main villain.

Since Connaughton had never done any sort of production before, he had months of intense training and preparations. When asked about the process, he said, “It was frustrating at times, but it was a lot of fun. I started the play out without knowing how to sing or act or any of that. All the stuff was foreign to me.” Not only did Connaughton have to practice singing, but he also had to learn how to act as the villain. Connaughton enjoyed the challenge of being a new character on stage, as he was used to public speaking, yet had never had to take on a whole new persona. Connaughton remarked, “Anger, remorse, all of those feelings, just trying to portray them, was a lot of fun.” Though it was Connaughton’s first time acting, he captivated the audience with his larger-than-life personality and booming singing voice.

Though the actors and actresses involved in the play held the spotlight, the performance could not have happened without the help and dedication of the crew. The crew is the backbone of the play as they help move props around to make the production run smoothly. The crew is led by veteran backstage manager Kate Boland. Boland is in charge of many things that happen behind the curtain such as makeup, calling cues, props, changing scenes and scene setup. When asked about how long she has been doing backstage crew, she said, “I’ve been working backstage for my entire time in high school! I started as just a regular backstage crew because my mom told me it would be fun, and it was fun! In my second year, I became the Assistant Stage Manager and realized how much I enjoyed the backstage crew. From there, I committed to staying in theatre and became Stage Manager for the last two years.”

The assistant backstage managers, Ben Freeman and Thomas Coleman had to help Boland manage a specified side of the stage. When asked if they felt rewarded by doing crew, Freeman responded, “We help the show go on, and even though most people don’t see us during the production, we all know that we’re appreciated and playing a key part in the production.”

This play was full of exciting action, beautiful singing and even a few twists like Titus Teague and Sasha Mashchenko’s ballet performance and the moving train that was courtesy of the crew. The Arts Department is excited about the talent and future productions that CCS has to offer!