Spotlight On: Camp Rock Cast

It's that time of the year again when the AMS Theater Club is preparing its annual production. This year’s show is Disney’s Camp Rock: The Musical, based on Disney's hit movie Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. One unique feature of the AMS Theater Club is that students are involved in all areas of production with adult mentors.  An example is The Front Office, a crew that works on publicity, playbill and tickets.  Recently, Front Office reporters interviewed members of the cast to get an inside look at Camp Rock.

      I got the chance to interview one of the leads, Madeline Gillespie. Madeline’s role is a girl named Tess. As a part of the ‘Front Office’ I asked her a few questions about the show, and about what she likes about it. One thing Madeline told me was that she loves doing the AMS Theater Club. She likes to dance, sing and hang out with her friends. She thought that doing Camp Rock this year would be cool; because she likes the whole Camp Rock show. The music and the dancing.  ~Hannah Rawitscher, 7^th grade

I had the opportunity to talk with Lauren Rohlfs and Drew Whitney from the AMS Theater Club. They have both participated in this program since fifth grade, where they were cast in “Beauty and the Beast”. Lauren was a servant with only one line, and Drew was a villager. Four years later, Drew and Lauren are still with AMS Theater Club. Drew and Lauren both agree that over the years the dances have become harder and they have become longer. In their opinions, “Can’t Back Down” and “Heart and Soul” are the hardest. They say that their favorite dance number is “It’s a Brand New Day” because there are so many people rocking it out together.  ~Julia Tilton, 5^th grade

This year the AMS Theater Club is performing the show, Camp Rock: The Musical. This show is based on Disney’s movie Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. I got a chance to interview Faith Farnham, who is part of the cast. Faith has been in the AMS Theater Club for 4 years. You may recognize her in this year’s play, because in last year’s production of Alice in Wonderland she played the Queen of Hearts.  She loves doing theater club because she gets to bond with the cast and become a team. This year she is playing the role of Dana, a girl from Camp Star. Her favorite part in the show this year is the dancing because it’s upbeat and fun. When asked who would like the show, she said, “Because the show is about a summer of music, people who are music lovers and people who can relate to show because they go to camp would really enjoy the show.” ~Kristin Meader, 7^th grade

As part of the Publicity Crew, I had the chance to interview cast member Shawn Latulippe. Shawn is an 8th grader and has been in the AMS Theater Club for 4 years. She told me that Camp Rock is about a group of kids having fun at summer camp and that her character, Lacy Williams, is really into herself and thinks she is an amazing performer. Shawn told me that she likes playing Lacy because she is normally a nice person but gets to play the part of a mean person.  I asked her what it is like being part of the AMS Theater Club and she said "it is cool because I get to do all my favorite things. I love to sing, dance and act, and all my friends are in the play so we have a good time".  She also told me that her favorite part of the show is the song “Fire”, which is one of the main songs of the play, and that there may be a surprise or two during the song.  Shawn also told me that she is planning on joining the Souhegan High School Theater Club next year and that she hopes that lots of people can come and see Camp Rock in March! ~ Charlotte Futrell, 5^th grade.

You can see Disney’s Camp Rock: The Musical at the Amherst Middle School on March 14^th, 15^th and 16^th.  Tickets are $5 each and are available at Amherst Middle School, The Black Forest, and The Homestead.