Sarah Suggs in Willy Wonka

By:Cydney Fones

Sarah Suggs is a sophomore at Greenwood High

School and this year played Veruka in the Willy

Wonka production at Greenwood. “I loved my

character”, Sarah said, “It was really fun to be

mean and not get in trouble”. Sarah also

performed in last years production. “I got

interested because my friends were doing it and I

really like to sing.”Sarah said.

Sarah practiced anywhere from 3-5 hours for this

musical. She had to learn her lines, design her

costume, and practice on stage. “This was a

difficult role because it was hard to be mean and

not feel bad.” Sarah said about her character. “I

had to buy the material, then have someone make

my costume.” This was a main role and took a lot

of time and work.

Opening night is the busiest time for the

performers and everyone involved in a musical or

play. It is stressful, but is exciting at the same

time. “Everybody is excited to perform in front of

a big crowd and show them what we have worked

on.” Sarah said. The dress rehearsal the night

before has to be the most exciting time because

everything has to be perfect for the next night.

The practice lasted about five hours.

Sarah and the girls in the musical had to put on all

their make-up for dress rehearsal. “Putting on

that much make-up was fun because I do not

normally get to put on that much.” “I learned to

put on make-up from friends in previous

musicals." Sarah said. Everyone wrote positive

notes on the mirrors in the dressing room. “They

wrote on the mirrors to show support.” Sarah

said. Everyone had a good time and it was a fun

atmosphere.

The dress rehearsal is the most hectic and

busiest day besides the actual opening night.

They have to make sure everything is perfect for

the performance in front of a crowd. The week

before, the cast practiced at the Capitol so they

would be ready for opening night. “I performed at

the Capitol last year and for dance recitals.”

Sarah said. “It seems more real because it’s a

bigger stage.”

Sarah’s character was a main role. Veruka was

one of the people who won a golden ticket. Sarah

was very good at playing this role. She was very

dedicated and worked hard to get her part right.

Sarah said: “I was excited because this was the

first main role I have had! My favorite scene was

falling down the hole because it was fun.”

Sarah helped put make-up on someone else in the

cast about to go practice his scene. The boys also

had to put on make-up for the musical. “At first

the boys didn’t like it, but eventually they thought

it was fun.” Sarah said. “You can’t do a play

without make-up, it’s just part of it.” said Colin

Sheehan. The boys in the musical thought it was a

good experience.

Behind the scenes of the play everyone is running

around trying to get ready. They have to be quiet

so the audience doesn’t hear them. They also

have to keep up with which scene it is on so they

can be ready and on stage on time. It is a long

process getting ready and practicing for opening

night. Everything has to go right.

In this photo Sarah is on stage as Veruka. She is

wearing the costume she had made and is in all her

make-up. Before going on stage you have to stand

behind the curtain ready to go on. In this scene Sarah

was being interviewed about her golden ticket. Sarah

was very good at this part and very good in the

musical. Along with doing musicals Sarah sings too. “I

would love to sing as a career if an opportunity

presented itself.” Sarah said. “From being in this play I

learned that you always need to learn your lines on

time!” Sarah added.