Studio theater auditions were held for Zombie Prom, a musical which is being put on by the Cerritos College ASCC and the Department of Theater and Film.
For stage director, Jerry Prell, the auditions on Tuesday, Jan. 20 were not well attended.
This particular production has the potential of being a bold expression of culture for the vast masses.
Prell stated, “The theme is teenage angst and discrimination,” two important topics to college students today.
“There’s a young man and a young woman who are in high school and they fall in love. The young woman is forced by her parents and the principal of the school to break up with him, so he throws himself into a nuclear reactor and is buried at sea.
Her love brings him back to life. Then it’s a matter of the school not wanting any zombies on campus.”
He explained the choice of scripts “I thought this would be appropriate because zombie culture is really popular.
“I think it is a great idea to bring students something they might be interested in. I expect it to be a fun show. It has a lot of rock music because it is set in the 1950’s.”
He continued, “The characters are really fun. It’s larger than life. There will be great costumes. I think it will be a great evening to come and see this, especially for the greater Cerritos community.”
The play gives students a chance to perform in the different directions that the director takes.
Music major Ana Gomez said, “I like the way that our director works and I’m interested in seeing where he is going to take it. I’m auditioning because I like the directing style and I like performing. It’s fun!”
She and many other people auditioning had positive things to say about the artistry of the director.
Others said they were auditioning because they found the subject matter intriguing.
Natasha Lopez, a Theater Arts major had this to say: “I really love how it takes place in the fifties and I really love the style and the music. So I think it would be interesting.”
She also addressed the issue of low attendance for the audition, “They should have promoted it more. But also I think a lot of people don’t want to audition because they’re afraid.
“It is scary but once you go up there you just lose yourself and have a fun time.”
Evidently, the cast is passionate for performing.
Mashun Tucker, another theater arts major went on to say, “I actually just found out today about the audition and I had things prepared since I’m a theater geek.
“I had a headshot, a resume, and I had my song prepared with another monologue.”
Mashun expressed “I have a lot of experience crewing. I’ve lighting designed some shows. I’ve done hair and makeup. I’ve done running crew for sets. I’ve been on props crew.”
The actor and others by reciting their qualifications from memory proved that they put hard work into the arts, yet this production may risk going unnoticed by the better part of the Cerritos College student body.
One other person at the auditions hopes this play can reach out to the audience and make a difference.
Joseph Baca, theater arts major said: “I hope the show inspires others to pursue the arts in general.
“I feel like they will take away something from it and that will inspire them to do something they never thought they would be interested in. It all comes together nicely.”
