After two years of theater, I’ve come back to the place that started it all: Del Mar College. This time, I’m taking on “Return to the Forbidden Planet,” a campy take on science fiction.
I wasn’t expecting to audition at first, as I had originally signed on to help with music before auditions were underway. As the show began to take hold, I threw my hat in the ring instead. A little bit of singing and acting later, and I got the role of Cookie.
For those unfamiliar with the show, Cookie is the lowly cook aboard the spaceship the show takes place in. He’s young, and when a “young girl” unexpectedly enters the ship, he’s in love.
He has a few songs to sing, and as is the nature of “Forbidden Planet,” they are all real rock-and-roll songs from the ‘50s and ‘60s. As we were learning the songs, I was surprised at how familiar I was with them.
I had grown up listening to these songs. I had shown myself nearly half of the show’s materials when I was in high school and blindly scrolling through YouTube. Of course I had to re-learn how to sing these songs, but I had a starting point I had accidentally developed over the years.
We had two weeks to learn the songs, and after that we moved on to blocking, where we learn our dances and movements. That’s still an ongoing process but let me just say that we’re having a lot of fun so far!
I really can’t wait for you folks to see “Forbidden Planet” when it opens on April 10. This is show is silly and I’m so glad to be a part of it!
