This Friday, November 5th is Cairn’s Fall Musical titled Angels and Witches and Fairies, Oh My! I interviewed Cassie Perednia, who plays multiple characters in the musical and is also the stage manager, to find out more about her experience in this musical as well as theater in the past. Cassie is a senior Music major who loves the Lord, cats, and pickles. She has worked at The Music Man Singing Ice Cream Shoppe for the last two summers. You can find out more about this in the Cairn Magazine. She is a fun and loving person who is very passionate about theater. 

How long have you been doing theater?

“My first major role was in 8th grade. It was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. I was Becky Thatcher, which was the female lead. In high school, I went to a performing arts academy, so all I did was theater. We did a fall drama and a spring musical every year. I also did shows at my township high school. Freshman year, we did Legally Blonde. Junior year, I wasn’t in one of the musicals; I was actually the musical director for Sister Act. That is when I really started liking doing backstage stuff. I also stage managed my junior year. With my performing arts high school, we did a show every semester and also the fall drama and spring musicals. We didn’t have to do the fall drama and spring musical every year; that was extracurricular. I got to do a lot of performing and backstage stuff, so that’s where I developed my love for both.”

Why is theater important to you?

“I like that you get a chance to act out someone else’s life and put your own spin on it. You get to tell a story and be just one piece of the story; you’re working with a bunch of other people to communicate the story properly and I like that it’s a group activity. I just like the act of communicating. I like working with others; you get to play off of them.”

What is your favorite part of participating in the musical?

“When you get all the songs stuck in your head and you can’t get them out of your head months after. I don’t know, I like when people bring me flowers (wink, wink). I just like theater in general. I like the rush of adrenaline you get when you’re going on the stage and when the lights are beating down on you. I like the rehearsal process too, but there’s just something different about the actual performance, feeding off the audience’s energy.”

How do you prepare for your roles in the musical? 

“I am currently playing 3 roles, 4 if you count stage managing. I like to know the broader scope of my character, so knowing how they fit into the entire story, not just knowing this one scene with them. Why are they in this current scene and what led them to this place? I think that helps me make more informed decisions about my characters. That informs how I’m going to play that specific piece of the story. 

What have you found to be most helpful for you?

I practice until oblivion; a lot of practicing. I like listening a lot too; I like listening to other people sing it. Once we get the blocking, it cements a lot of it into my head. Once I have something to link it with, it just helps me a lot more. I feel like it’s easier for me to memorize songs, because lines are just a string of words, but songs have a little melody to go with it.”

What is your relationship to your characters? Are you similar or drastically different? 

“In Hansel and Gretel, I’m playing Gretel in one of the scenes and in Into the Woods, I’m playing Little Red and they’re both children, so it brings out the more playful side of me, just acting free of inhibitions and just going for it. Rapunzel is not really a child, but she still has that playful attitude. I feel like I relate to her more. I think coming to college is like leaving the tower of my home and all that comfort and coming here, stepping out, like this is the world, and just getting to experience new things. She’s a strong woman; I aspire to be that strong – just whack people over the head with a frying pan. 

What type of role is your favorite to play?

My favorite role to play is the princess role. At the ice cream shop, I was Belle. I like playing those roles because I feel like I relate to the innocent, sweet kind of character. I feel like it’s closest to me, so it’s easiest to play. I have never been cast as a villain type; I’d kind of be curious to see how I’d play something like that.”

What is it like doing stage set up/behind the scenes work while also being a character performing on stage? Do you prefer one over the other?

“It is difficult at times, because I am wearing two hats, but I do enjoy it because I get to have my hand on all the pieces of the puzzle and I get to organize it, which I enjoy doing. I like doing logistical things. I like having a leadership role in this capacity because it is something I have a lot of experience in. I enjoy being able to help underclassmen or people [who haven’t experienced a production like this before] by them advice and tips. I like taking the bigger sister role and giving tips to memorize lines and teaching the dances and choreography. 

I like performing better. I like the aspect of playing a character. Doing the backstage things is more like a job whereas performing is like playing. While I still enjoy doing that aspect, I feel like there is more fun in playing on stage.”

Come see Cairn’s performance of Angels and Witches and Fairies, Oh My! tomorrow night!