Musicals are a lot; they require singing, dancing, and acting. Doing a musical while also being in school is extremely difficult. Katya Solis, now a Junior, seems to have it all under control. As a sophomore, she landed the lead of Matilda in the school musical. Katya has a great passion for music and has put a lot of work and dedication into Matilda. She was able to push through many challenges while creating a big project and school.
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Katya talks about what she had in mind during auditions. She says,“When I auditioned, I thought it would be cool if I got Matilda. But, I honestly didn’t think I’d be able to get the role as a sophomore. I was just doing it for fun.
But it worked out in the end.” During the stressful season of the musical, it’s extremely important to have support. Without support, it can make it feel impossible to push through stressful times. Thankfully, Katya was surrounded by a great team. She says, “The directors are definitely very, very supportive. The musical director and the choral director were the most supportive. And then, you know, my friends and family were always there for me, and even though it was stressful, they really helped me to get through it. Without them around me, I know that it would’ve been way more difficult.”
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“One of the main songs that Matilda sings is ‘Quiet,’ and for that song we had to get a harness, and I had to fly. It was very difficult since I’m scared of heights,” says Katya as she scratches her head. “It was very, very scary to, and there wasn’t the best communication. There’s another main song, ‘Naughty.’ We had re-blocked it so many times, and that just means, like, we had to figure out what I was doing, where I was going, and where I was moving. We have re-blocked that song so many times. We were actually changing it, like days before opening, and that was very frustrating. I was getting so annoyed, but it worked out.”
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Katya was able to stay on track with her studies while still making big time commitments to the musical, and the chamber choir. “I’m also in the chamber choir, and that choir is a big commitment, and I think that it is truly taught me, how to manage my time. And so even with the hard classes, of course, it’s sometimes it’s hard to study. Like, if I have a big test the next day but, even though it was hard, it was still manageable, and I just made sure that I did not fall behind. I was very on top of assignments.”
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