Performing Matilda: Theater, Together, Teamwork!  

November 2025

This story comes from Jenny, Soyoung, and Emma – three middle schoolers involved in fall semester's performance. Comms intern Jiwon provided editorial guidance.

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Matilda created a place of magic, fun, and friendships on and off the stage. To the tech crew, directors, and cast, you have done something amazing. The show is full of amazing vocals and funny acting skills. 

Rehearsals were always fun as we developed our vocals and the show itself. We worked on blocking, choreography, and character expression, and we supported one another through every step. What started as lines in a script quickly became an exciting show filled with bold characters, beautiful music, and unforgettable moments. Working together as a team was fun. We were so happy to present Matilda to all our audiences, including other performers who might be inspired to join theater.

Going on stage, singing, dancing, acting, and setting everything up is always challenging, but our amazing directors Rhian Claydon, Bob Harper, Jimin Lee, Mario Jung, Ashley McKeown, and Caitlin Niederlander really helped this show come to life. They worked as hard as they could to make this show the best it could be. Working together as a team was a great journey that can’t be done twice.

The set designers also did a great job on making the show come to life. The creativity of Justin Marslender and Ben Neiderlander was seen in the sets that transformed the PAC into a new world. And, of course, Joon Lee works tirelessly behind the scenes to make every light and technical moment perfect. 

The cast and crew became close during this time that we built Matilda together. Every time we rehearsed, it led to another step of perfection, excellence, and gave us a thrill to practice more. But, not only did we work together; this show included a significant amount of individual practice, especially by the main characters.

Now, many might ask, “Why theater?” Here is the answer: theater is a fun place to be yourself, create new friends, and be a little bit off. Our Matilda season was a space full of fun, friends, and mostly fun. 

Thank you to everyone for your best effort in the musical, and thank you audience for cheering us on!