Sophomore Jane Swisher recently finished rehearsals for Scrooge! The Musical at the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse and is in her third week of performances as Kathy Cratchit.
Coming from a musical family, Swisher has been doing theater for as long as she can remember, performing with Chappelow, the Greeley Stampede Troupe and Greeley West High School. Her time with the Greeley Stampede Troupe gave Swisher experience, knowledge, and family. “The main thing that theater has done for me has just provided a great community,” Swisher said.
The auditioning process was familiar to Swisher, having had auditioned for other shows at the Candlelight before Scrooge! The Musical. Swisher mentioned that callbacks were very intense, having to improvise and cold read with people she had just met.
Greeley West theater teacher and director Peggy Freemole has had the opportunity to direct Swisher since 2019, when she played the role of young Fiona in Shrek The Musical. Freemole has seen, first hand, all of Swisher’s growth as a performer through productions at Greeley West, including Matilda, Something’s Afoot, Mean Girls, and Chicago. Freemole stated, “Her confidence and her ability to stretch as far as the type of character she’s playing has grown tremendously over the years.”
Freemole wasn’t surprised that Swisher had booked this job. “Not only does Jane have a wide range and really great pitch, she backs that up with tons of experience,” Freemole mentioned, “I know she went in there prepared.”
When she started rehearsals, Swisher immediately noticed the difference between this professional show and shows she has done in the past. She was expected to come into the rehearsal process completely memorized, which was fairly easy for her because she was able to rehearse with her two brothers, Adam and Peter, who also earned roles in the show. The show was put together in four weeks, with one vocal rehearsal and full run-throughs by the third rehearsal.
“We only had to be there twice a week because every cast member knew to practice outside of rehearsals and everybody is very professional,” Swisher said.
While performing three to four shows a week, Swisher has had to manage balancing this commitment and her school work. Swisher and the other “young professionals” do homework backstage and help each other out.
This experience for Swisher is a window to the professional world that she hopes to thrive in one day. She heard multiple stories from the adult cast members about how they got to where they are in their professional careers, which has made Swisher feel more comfortable about striving for that career herself. Swisher stated, “It was very helpful to hear all of the options and different paths you can take to achieve a place in the professional world of theater.”
Freemole is excited that Swisher is receiving this experience. She hopes that with this she can get some exposure to other professional community groups and can reach outside of the Greeley community for some more challenging roles and audition opportunities. Freemole said, “I am excited for people to see her talent and for them to know that she goes to Greeley West.”
