The lights went up on the Austin Independent School District (AISD) Performing Arts Center (PAC) for the Alley Cat players’ performance of “Into the Woods,” written by James Lapine and Steven Sondheim. The stage was filled with looming trees that held the multiple different storylines that were to play out through the performance. Elaborate costumes, lighting, and a tower adorning the stage filled the audience with whimsy and wonder. On the nights of Feb. 10 and 11, the cast and crew of the production opened the curtains of the PAC to a full theater. 

To prepare for the spring musical, both the cast and crew worked countless  hours this semester, according to sophomore Levi Scott. Scott worked behind the scenes as a part of costume and run crew, as well as makeup and hair crew.

It was Scott’s first time being a part of the crew, and while they loved the amazing community of the Alley Cats, he admitted that it was difficult to do so much work in so little time. Due to the icy road conditions and power outages, AISD canceled almost a week of school from Jan. 30- Feb. 4, and therefore prevented almost a week of rehearsal time very close to the show date. 

“We stayed at the PAC until 8:30 every single day  the week after the freeze,” Scott said. “[We were] rushing through dress rehearsals and tech rehearsals because we missed an entire week.” 

Sophomore Brennan Lein played Jack, one of the several main protagonists of the musical, and was very excited about playing the role. He agreed that the time lost due to the winter storm made production harder on the cast and crew.

“It was definitely harder with the time constraint,” Lein said. “We only had a month to throw the show together, but we got through it.”

Sophomore Astrid Gothard was a part of the construction and run crew for the musical and also shared a similar perspective on the subject. She was involved with the production of many onstage props, and observed how the crew wasn’t able to do everything they hoped for. 

“The loss of a few workdays meant that we didn’t get to do a few bonus projects that we had been intending,” Gothard said. “I’ll always be a little bit sad that we didn’t get a roof on Repunzel’s tower, or a few more branches on Cinderella’s tree.”

While the pre-production was fast-paced, Lein and Gothard agreed with Scott that the close-knit camaraderie of the Alley Cats made the chaos worth it. According to Gothard, preparation for the play was intense, but everyone pitched in to help. 

“The community is amazing because you’re spending hours and hours and hours with the same group of people over and over [again],” Lien said. “It’s just incredible to see the way that it all comes together and the bonds you formed with everybody.” 

Through just a month of preparing for the big day, those in the cast and crew had already formed strong connections with each other. Gothard and Abrahams agreed that the many long nights were less strenuous on the Alley Cats because of the friendships in the company.

“Missing that week for the ice days meant that we were really behind going into performance week,” Gothard said. “The actors thankfully did an amazing job catching up and absolutely nailed their performances.” 

During the preparation of the musical, the cast and crew were able to refine their skills. This included the ability to make friends with many different kinds of people, according to Scott.

“The ability to be around people who are super different from you was strengthened by being in the musical,” Scott said. “The theater attracts everybody.”