A painter flicks their brush, finishing their masterpiece. It’s been days since they started. The shading, the lighting, and sketch, it all had taken perfect. Everything has contributed to their final piece. It’s finally time to show the world their painstaking efforts, what they spent all their time on. From the longest monologue, to the highest note, the life of an artist is a brutal one. With spending years to perfect their craft to the best of their ability, it’s time to pull up the curtains and learn how these young artists do it.

How did they get to this point? What passions does a young artist have? What’s their drive? What did they do to finalize that winning piece? To learn about the process of art and the beauty of their stories, check out ‘Behind the Scenes at OCSA,’ a column centered towards discovering the genius of the students on campus.

‘Behind the Scenes at OCSA’ will go behind the scenes and interview students and staff on their experiences. From the actors of ‘Kiss Me Kate,’ to the artists of the future, hear about their life and times at OCSA. Not only that, but learn more about the professionals dedicating their time and efforts to educating young performers. Whether it be how they grew into be such talented artists, or a sneak peak at their newest projects, this column is built to inform and educate people about our student population.

The OCSA Ledger will be going backstage with the cast of the 1948 musical ‘Kiss Me Kate,’ a musical about the woes of love and the threats of gambling. ‘Kiss me Kate’ showcases the backstage turmoil of a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, The Taming of the Shrew. Chaos ensues as the narcissistic lead actor, Fred Graham, playing Petruchio, is forced to act opposite of his movie star ex-wife, Lilli Vanessi, who plays Katharina.

Drama intensifies as Fred falls for the young actress, Lois Lane, who is playing Bianca, pining for her throughout the show. This angers Lilli, her rage slowly reaching it’s boiling point throughout the musical. As the show goes on, Lois’ gambling boyfriend, Bill, has recently written an IOU for 10,000$ in Fred’s name, leading gangsters to threaten his theatre and life. The cast comes to the conclusion that the only way to pay it off is to the keep the show running.

When asked what they were most excited for audience members to see, cast members each responded differently, from Michael Crosby, substitute for the Orchestra saying, “I think seeing all these art majors come together and make something fun and enjoyable.” To ensemble member Roxxian Martinez Irizarry’s ecstatic response, “I’m excited for the audience to see the comedic interactions between characters and enjoy it’s exaggerated slapstick style.”

To watch the outcome of these intertwined tails, the school’s production will be running from November 4th through November 6th. Whether it be time with the tech crew, or hanging around the actors, learn everything about the passion and production of OCSA’s first musical of the year while getting a snippet of what this column has to offer.