When Staples’ fall production of “West Side Story” opens on Nov. 11, student actors, actresses, singers, and dancers will have their chance to shine. However, the audience will still only see half the story.
In fact, the 26 students who sit beneath the stage as members of the pit orchestra hope to go unnoticed during the performance.
“The thing about pit is if we do our job right, nobody should even notice we are there,” said Austin Alianiello ’12. “Some acknowledgement would be nice, but our main reason for doing what we do isn’t to get noticed. We work hard so that the play can be as good as it can be.”
The students have been presented with complex and intense music composed by Leonard Bernstein.
Pit Conductor Adele Valovich selected only the most qualified musicians.
“Much of the audition, especially for the brass players, is determined by range, or how high students can play. We call the trumpets the screamers because their part is so high,” Valovich said. “Ninety-nine percent of high school students don’t have that type of range or endurance.”
Jason Lustbader ’12 and Jackson Ullmann ’14 will take on the difficult trumpet selection with the help of two professional trumpet players.
“Staples Players is relying on the pit to back them up, and if the pit messes up or gets lost, then the whole song will be off track, so that does put a tiny bit of pressure on us,” Ullmann said.
Each year Players hires professional musicians to assist students in the pit. According to professional horn player Renee Redman, who has been playing with Staples’ pit orchestra since 2005, the adults get just as much out of the experience as the students do.
“It’s fun to play with the students at Staples,” Redman said. “I’m always happy to see how accomplished the students are and how they always want to do their best.”
Members of the pit orchestra are pushing themselves to new heights for the upcoming production, and in the case of Alianiello, even learning new instruments.
“Because we are using the original Broadway books, some of the [selections] call for multiple instruments, but I’ve never had a student, beforeAustin, jump in with both feet to learn a new instrument,” Valovich said.
Alianiello will be playing tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, and clarinet. He began with Staples’ orchestra playing the alto sax, which he has been playing for the past seven years. However, Alianiello said he “found his voice” with the tenor saxophone during his sophomore year. He then picked up the clarinet at the end of last year after noticing the principal clarinetist in the Symphonic and Pit Orchestras, Gabe Block’ 11, would be graduating.
“Naturally I felt obligated to fill that void,” Alianiello said. “Playing the clarinet is not the same as playing the sax and it has been very tough adjusting. However, I really enjoyed the challenge.”
The ambition Alianiello exemplifies is a commonality among all members of the pit orchestra. Pit Manager Chelsea Steinberg ’12 is continually impressed with the musicians’ skill and dedication.
“In many instances I’ve found that the pit musicians are amongst the most eager to be involved with the production,” Steinberg said.
“There are so many other places for musicians to play, so if a musician chooses to be in the pit, it’s because they really want to be apart of the theater experience.”