By Payton Calati
On Tuesday, Feb. 6, the cast and crew of the upcoming Grand Rapids Community College production, “Incorruptible” started their rehearsals.
The cast is made up of eight actors:
- Tyrell Jackson-Streets, as Jack
- Ahmir Wiggins, as Felix
- Jase Harris, as Charles
- Joanna Kwantes, as peasant woman
- Alianai Mata, as Marie
- Asher Deyung, as Martin
- Marley Ellis, as Agatha
- And William Malakowsky, as Olf
As the cast and crew were coming into the classroom, everyone was very welcoming and excited to meet each other. Some were friends or had known of each other beforehand, either from classes or past productions, and somewhere completely new to the GRCC players. An outsider wouldn’t have known that they didn’t all know each other from how comfortable conversations flew.
The beginning of rehearsal started with a simple icebreaker of 20 minutes of one-on-one talking. This was to provide a more intimate conversation with peers and get to know people more personally.
The room was loud with many conversations flowing throughout the room. Everyone appeared to feel comfortable talking about different topics and intermixing with new people.
Marley Ellis, who has the role of Agatha, is a first-time actor for GRCC. She was given the impression that the cast and crew are welcoming of new and old actors.
“It’s very welcoming” Ellis said. “Everybody wants to get to know each other, that sort of deal. Everyone wants to be friendly. They want to know who they’re working with. They want to know how our dynamics are going to play out.”
Jase Harris, who has the role of Charles, is a returning actor for GRCC.
“It felt really chill,” Harris said. “Getting to know fresh faces is really good. It surprised me that Tom (the director) hasn’t had any of us.”
After the one-on-ones at the beginning, everyone gathered around the table once more and talked about the scheduling and the rules. Director Tom Kaechele took into account everyone’s schedule and tried to make rehearsals attainable for everyone in the cast and crew.
Each person was measured so that their costumes could be made. While the actors took turns getting measured, the rest of the group continued conversing at the table.
The cast members all contributed to the uplifting environment and helped everyone fit in.
During their time at rehearsal, the cast did a table read and got to experiment with the voices of their characters. People were laughing at the jokes, asking for help from Tom if they needed it and overall appeared to have a fun time going through the story together.
“I feel very confident. I’m very happy to be in the cast of people,” Ellis said. “I’m just beginning to meet them, but they seem like really good people to work with.”
Excited for where the cast is going to take the play, Harris says that they are going to have a lot of fun with it.
“It just makes me more excited for the play. I think that we’re going to have a lot more fun with it as we go on,” Harris said.
After a night of rehearsal and table reading, no one was eager to leave the room as soon as they could. Instead, people stuck around to talk and build relationships with each other.
With their first rehearsal out of the way, the cast and crew are starting to count down the days for the opening show on April 11.
