Every year, the Manitou Springs High School Theatre Department puts on multiple performances with precise adherence to deadlines, with the odd exception every now and then.
The only recent example of any alteration to a play or musical’s performance schedule was in the 2023 to 2024 school year, when the musical “G.I. Jukebox”, written by theatre director Wendy Harms and her PPSC Theatre Appreciation class, had its first performance altered to be a “dress rehearsal performance” rather than a formal performance. This was the last change of any sorts the students had seen to a performance, until 2025’s production of “Cinderella”.
In the last week of rehearsals, “hell week” as it is called, half of the “Cinderella” cast became ill with the flu, stopping the show dead in its tracks, thus, two of the performances of the show had to be rescheduled. Katherine Hanchey, one of the principal actors, was sick until well after the original dates for the first two performances. “It sucked. It was like a sore throat. It was terrible,” Hanchey said.
While the delay was certainly unfortunate, it was much appreciated by members of the cast, such as lead actress Cordelia Portman. “I do think that the fact that the shows were pushed back has given us an opportunity to rehearse more; and I was at the last rehearsal that we had before our original shows were supposed to go on, and we just weren’t there at all,” Portman said. “We weren’t at the level that we all could have been at, and we all saw the potential, but we weren’t there. I do think that having those extra few days really helped us, but not because it helped people get better, just because we needed more time to process these elements of the show.”
For Portman, the delay was still a double-edged sword. “It has been really impactful towards our rehearsal process, and having to cancel multiple rehearsals is just really stressful,” Portman said. “It became a really big challenge just pulling all these little bits and pieces together into one big picture to paint for the audience. It just ended up really burning me out.”
As those who attended the first rescheduled performance would know, it was changed to be a “dress rehearsal performance,” a decision the cast felt less-than solid on. “I didn’t really like that because it was also like our opening night, but no one came because it was a dress rehearsal. I think that was kind of silly,” Hanchey said.
Similarly, Portman felt it wasn’t the best decision. “I don’t think it was necessary. I feel like without that label, if we had just called it opening night, we would have done just wonderful. I think we did really wonderful,” Portman said. “Calling it a dress rehearsal makes it seem like we aren’t ready, and then the people who went to opening night might be a little bit unsure as to whether it’s a complete show or not, if they’re not aware of the sicknesses.”
On the administration side of things, Georgianna Derziotis, the Athletics and Activities Secretary feels that the delay was the best decision for the students. “We put the kids participating in the production first. We wanted, obviously, everybody to heal completely. That was our main concern,” Derziotis said. “We wanted to put our kids and staff first, the students’ health obviously comes first.”
Derziotis and the other administrators involved found it easy to agree on the delay. “I think pushing the production back, ultimately, was the best decision. It took a little bit of stress off of Miss. Steen, Ms. Harms, and also Mr. Williams, saying that we could give them a little bit more time and a little bit more room as well to kind of get all the logistics figured out on their end,” Derziotis said. “It was kind of a collective decision that was made with how many of them were sick, it was just kind of a no brainer for us.”
Athletics and Activities Director, Brandon DeMatto echoes much of the same. “At the end of the day, you want to do right by the programs and do right by the kids who have invested so much into preparing for this event. We’re trying to take all the necessary steps to acknowledge the work that’s been done and give them an opportunity to perform, because we think that that’s important,” DeMatto said. “I feel like we got it right. We communicated well, evaluating the situation as it was presented to us, and then making decisions thereafter. I think given some tough circumstances, that’s probably the best way it could have gone about it.”
In the end, thanks to the efforts of the admin and the performing arts department, the show went up according to the new schedule for all of its four performances. “Its all thanks to the admin that worked with us, Ms. Harms, Ms. Steen and Mr. Williams for staying flexible and continuing to communicate,” DeMato said. “We were just thrilled and excited that they got the opportunity to perform and showcase all the hard work and the commitment that everyone has had with it.”
