The cast of 'New Beginnings' define how "The Show MUST go on!"

Brody Oberlin (Pictured on the left, played Lex Derik Luther) Yara Pflughoeft (Assistant Director, is in the middle) and Kaleb (right) .

Written By Kaleb Vanden Akker

The cast of student written and directed show, New Beginnings: Traveling the Transcontinental Railroad, have proved what it means to endure, ever since their first rehearsal in February. While the cast has never once, collectively rehearsed together, the show has been developing fantastically. Director, Kaleb Vanden Akker and Assistant Director Yara Pflughoeft have been working collaboratively to help build a strong, tight knit cast who are able to perform well, physically and verbally. The limited number of rehearsals (12 of them), prevent standard approaches to rehearsals. While many professional, big scale performances have upwards of 20 rehearsals, the New Beginnings cast has had to compensate with intentional workshopping, because they have not had that luxury. Another example of why those workshops are needed, is because circumstances such as the above photo. Taken during a workshop with Brody Oberlin who plays Lex Derik Luther, Brody is being directed by Yara and Kaleb. Kaleb and Yara are able to work with cast members like Brody personally, to better help them perform well if they for example, were unable to attend a rehearsal previously due to various reasons. This compensation for absences is also aided by recordings of invaluable performances. They are called Play-By-Play videos. Using a student made web software called 'Campus Connects' by Nathaniel Kemme-Nash, it allows for easy access to the resources that the directors need to provide the cast as well as the entire rehearsal schedule. So while the cast has never actually been together since the very first rehearsal, as pictured below, the show's ability to still go on and endure is made possible by intentional resources that are accessible and workshops.

Not even the very first rehearsal, had the entire cast. 2 of 9 cast members were missing.

The show has been coming together well also because the cast has been very dedicated. They have had to, because the show's live performance has been cut in half and on May 5th, an additional performance was added to allow for a full performance to be recorded. This has required the cast to lock in with their character, and come together to make something beautiful in even less time than they had before. In other words, the cast of New Beginnings: Traveling the Transcontinental Railroad, have been against all odds from the very beginning, yet they have still endured. Follow the link below to learn more about the compromise R.O.P and their producer for the show, Chris Murphy (Director of Concordia Lutheran High School Theatre and Fine Arts Department Chair) made to allow New Beginnings to be shown. Click on the video to read the description!

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This article is not copyrighted and is fully for informational purposes only. It was written on April 16th, 2025. All logos are property of Rocket On Productions.