“Sometimes I have to remind myself that I can’t spend my whole day dancing and singing when I have a midterm coming up”

This year marks the 10^th anniversary of the MacSci Musical. Every year it’s an entirely new show produced and performed by students in the Faculty of Science. Curtains go up on this year’s show on Saturday, March 29^th and Sunday, March 30^th with 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. performances in the Robinson Memorial Theatre on campus. All proceeds from ticket sales are going to Hamilton Food Share. Order tickets today.

Four cast and crew members – Ashlyn Bowser, Lauren Pringle, Brandon Lau and Leah Smith – were asked about why they got involved and what they enjoy most – making friends tops their lists.

Ashyln Bowser – Crew Lead and 4^th year Biology student

“This is the third science musical that I’ve worked on and it’s my first time as one of the two crew leads. The crew plans and designs all the sets and costumes. During the shows, we’re the ones backstage wearing headsets and bossing everyone around and keeping the show running smoothly. The people I’ve met doing the musicals have become some of my best friends. We work on the musical every Sunday night – I schedule it in and treat it like a class. There’s never any drama and it’s always a good time. We get to pull pranks during our final performance and try to knock the cast off their game. Last year, we turned a table upside down and the actors had figure out a way to work around that without breaking character. The musical is one of the things I’m going to miss the most after I graduate this spring.”

Lauren Pringle – Cast and 1^st year Life Sciences student

“When I heard there was a science musical I knew that at some point during my undergrad that I had to audition. One of my friends told me not to wait and it’s been a major highlight of my first year at Mac. When I was younger, I tried every extracurricular but it wasn’t until I started performing that I found my niche. I was 10 years old when I began auditioning for musicals. The community I found within the arts was unlike anything I had experienced before. In high school, I started a drama club with two of my closest friends.  Everyone contributing to this year’s musical is so talented and supportive – the energy of our rehearsals is unmatched. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I can’t spend my whole day dancing and singing when I have a midterm coming up. My sister’s in the Engineering musical. Luckily, our musicals are on different weekends so our parents aren’t forced to choose between us.”

Brandon Lau – Orchestra and 3^rd year Chemical Biology student with a minor in Economics

“I wanted a fun extracurricular activity that wasn’t related to school work in any way. I had a lot of fun playing alto sax in my high school’s jazz band – I had a harmonica solo when we performed Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely – so I figured signing up for the musical was a great idea. I learned a couple riffs on my brother’s guitar a few years ago and I’ve been playing ever since. While practicing on my own is fine, it’s much more rewarding when playing with an entire orchestra. This is my first time playing with a group since high school – I’ve definitely learned a lot from the more experienced orchestra members. I’ve never thought about being part of the cast. I don’t think I have the acting or singing chops for that. I do enjoy karaoke, especially when I get to sing Mr. Brightside by The Killers, so maybe I won’t rule it out entirely for next year.”

Leah Smith – Vocal Director and 5^th year Integrated Science student

“An elementary school teacher introduced me to musicals and they’ve been a part of my life ever since. This is my fourth MacSci musical. I auditioned in my first year at Mac but didn’t get in – that was a blessing in hindsight because I needed to focus on my courses. I auditioned the following year and landed a part as a supporting cast member. Last year I had one of the lead roles. This year, I joined the executive – I wanted to make room on the cast for other students. If you’d told me four years ago that I’d be the vocal director, I would’ve been totally confused and ask how that could’ve happened. I’ve since learned that there’s a lot math, physics and science involved when it comes to music. The MacSci Musical is a space where everyone gets to learn and grow. To be here for the 10^th anniversary is so special – it’s such an amazing annual celebration of science and the arts.”