North Iredell High School teachers Dan Ryan and Ian Sullivan are two weeks away from presenting a one-act musical the pair started from scratch last summer.
Ryan said the entire process, from the writing of the first words in the script to the choosing of the notes in each song to the acceptance of the story from the students who act it out has been “mind-blowing.”
It all began last school year when Ryan and Sullivan, who teach a tandem musical class at NIHS, bought the rights to a musical for the kids to perform. After rehearsing and performing it, Ryan said the production seemed “cheesy.”
“He went, ‘You know what, I think we could do that. We could write one of those,’ ” said Sullivan, NIHS’ theatre instructor.
The result, titled “The Millennium Problem,” will make its on-stage debut at 7 p.m. March 8 in the NIHS auditorium. Three more shows, 7 p.m. March 9 and 1 and 6 p.m. March 10, are scheduled.
The story follows what Ryan terms a “nerd” who, in an attempt to earn the approval of the popular kids at school, sets out on a mission to solve one of the famed millennium problems.
There are seven real-life millennium problems, set forth by the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge, Mass., and all come with a $1 million prize. The prize amount was announced in 2000 and to date only one has been solved, by Dr. Grigoriy Perelman, a Russian mathematician.
“The Millennium Problem” re-imagines Perelman as a high school student, Greg Perelman, whose main purpose in solving one of the math problems is to win the heart of a popular girl. Along the way he attracts the eye of a “nerd” girl, and conflict ensues.
“It really kind of storyboarded quickly,” said Ryan, the NIHS music teacher. “I was really bent on, I don’t know why, high school nerds at the time. I felt like “Glee” was really popular. We had a nerd-themed day here and all the kids dressed up. I said, ‘Man, those should be characters.’ ”
Ryan and Sullivan kept the students in the dark about the plot as the production was pieced together. Only after auditions were finished and students chosen was the script revealed.
“The secret really helped drum up interest, because people were bugging us ever since the summer,” Sullivan said. “How’s the musical coming? Have you guys finished it yet? Who are the characters?”
Sullivan said the kids loved the script from day one and were laughing at the jokes he had written, something he said was a relief.
“It’s definitely directed toward high school students, which makes it so much better,” said 15-year-old Harley Winzenried, who plays the popular girl who attracts Perelman once she thinks he will become rich. Winzenried called her character a “gold-digger.”
“It’s challenging because I know (the other cast members), and I wouldn’t want to push them around in real life,” Winzenried said.
Gabe McElfresh, a 16-year-old who plays Perelman’s best friend, said the musical being completely new adds to the fun of performing it.
“You get to make your own character,” said McElfresh. “It’s someone that no one else has been. It’s kind of new for all of us … we’re going to be the original.”
For tickets, call the school at 704-876-4191.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement