DMACC’s “Ride The Cyclone” musical takes you on a ride

DMACC’s Theatre program is preparing for their musical, “Ride The Cyclone,” which will be performed April 4-6 and April 10-13, with the Sunday shows at 2 p.m. and all others at 7:30 p.m..

The performances are free and will be in the Black Box Theatre in  Building 5 on the Ankeny Campus. For reservations, email  theatre@dmacc.edu or visit www.dmacc.edu/theatre.

Drama Professor and Program Chair Carl Lindberg said the show is “fun, free, 90 minutes, has no intermission, has great music, has great performances, and lots of things to laugh at and gawk at.”

The Theatre Program’s website summarizes the musical: “In this hilarious and outlandish story, the lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other — the chance to return to life. This popular musical is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived!”

Poet Nickel, from Pleasantville and majoring in liberal arts and acting, performs as Dance Captain and serves as Ricky’s understudy in the ensemble.

Her favorite part about the play is how close everybody is as a cast and how fun the whole process has been. As they have put the show together, “Sugar Cloud” has become one of her favorite songs. She said it is very fun to get up and just dance and sing and is such a fun part of the show. 

Nickel said her favorite and most memorable moment was when the main cast was sitting up front and watching her perform her one song, “Space Age Bachelor Man,” for this one night and one night only as understudy practice at a rehearsal. The director had the whole main cast get up to join the ensemble and finish out the number and dance through it. She said this was a very cool moment for her to watch happen and get the whole view and was super encouraging to have everyone get up and dance while she was ad-libbing and doing the splits. 

She has been in theatre for five years and said she started seriously at the start of high school. This is her first show she has officially understudied for, and it has been a big learning curve, 

Nickel said it is hard to “accept that it’s my role but at the same time not. It has been a struggle throughout this entire process.” Nickel said she has been alleviated more now that the understudies got a chance to do a run of the show. She said she didn’t think she had ever felt so appreciated walking away from a rehearsal. 

She said she handles her nerves by knowing herself and her experiences with stage fright and knowing that when the show starts, it’ll be over and worth it and remembering that it’s going to be a blast to do. Nickel said, “If I don’t see a future in theatre, I will make a future in theatre.”

Brent Williams is from Ottamwa, majoring in theatre. He is a member of the ensemble and has a role as Misha’s understudy. He said he has been involved in theatre since he was 4 years old. He likes the different contrasting styles in music and dance throughout the musical, including rapping. Williams said, “Each character has completely different styles, and it’s just so cool to see them work together and make a fun, kooky musical.” 

His favorite song is “Talia” because it goes from a super funny rap song to him making a bunch of compliments to his girlfriend and really switches on a dial. Williams said, “One of the hardest things is getting into character. […] Sometimes I judge my characters a lot, and that’s a difficult thing for me.” He said that sometimes accents can be difficult, especially certain words with a Ukrainian accent, which he has to practice over and over again. 

Joey Brevik plays Ricky Potts in the show. Brevik is from Johnston, majoring in liberal arts, and hopes to get an acting certificate next fall. He has been active in theatre for about six years. Brevik said he went through a lot during the start of February, and getting to know a good majority of the cast and feeling like a genuine human being around them while knowing he has a safe space meant a lot to him. 

He said he sees a lot of himself in Ricky Potts. It was the right timing for him as he said, “It’s been a timepiece of what I was and how much I have grown. 

Brevik said he loves his song “Space Age Bachelor Man,” but he believes the most important song of the show is “Sugar Cloud.”

Brevik said, “I remember the first day we ran through it and I hadn’t heard the soundtrack yet […] I actually cried when I first heard it.” 

He said the overarching theme is acceptance, and you can feel this from the portrayal of Constance, especially in “Sugar Cloud,” with the heart and soul put into the performance. With a strong and dark presence of death in the show, Brevik thinks “Sugar Cloud” makes everything come home and tie together. 

He said a big challenge he is expecting is dealing with the emotion of the show; as Brevik said, it is a very emotionally heavy show, and all of the underlying things going on in his life, as well as the standard he is keeping to, is a challenge in itself. He said it is a struggle trying to live up to everything he wants to be because this show is very important to him, and many important people in his life will be there watching him. 

Brevik said the show has helped him grow his self confidence: “The best thing I could ever do for myself when I’m nervous is think about the people I love [friends and family], and I’m very lucky to  be in a show where I’m looking at people that I love.” 

Charlotte Proctor, from Altoona, majoring in liberal arts and acting, plays Constance. Her favorite thing about Constance is that she is very honest and can’t be anything but herself. She said, “Even in the moments where she’s trying to hide it, [her true self] still comes out.” 

Her favorite song is “Mine Return,” and she said she loves the harmonies throughout the song and the show in general and said they are quite complicated. 

Proctor said this show has been unique as everyone is called to rehearse every night, and there really is no time off or relax time. The practice usually takes place for three hours five days a week, which Proctor said can be tiring and carry fatigue but also can be rewarding as well. 

Emalee Levin from Ames, majoring in liberal arts and acting, plays Ocean. She has been in theatre on and off since she was in elementary school but has been taking it more seriously recently. 

She said she likes that she gets to do such a weird show with all her friends. She said, “I like how weird [the show] is, like it feels like a fever dream, and it doesn’t feel real.” She likes her character, Ocean, she feels more complicated than what she seems to be and feels lots of emotions all at once

Her favorite song is “It’s Not A Game/It’s Just A Ride,” and she can never get through it without crying. She said the show is about death and trying to appreciate your life while you can and said this song really sums this up and is very emotional. 

Levin said she hopes to have a future in theatre because musical theatre has her heart. She said she tried to avoid musical theatre for a long time because of her own confidence issues, but getting back into it has been the best decision she has made for herself because it is so fun. 

While theatre performances at DMACC are not new, Professor Lindburg said the theatre program has been in place for two and a half years and the acting program even less than that, so these programs are relatively new.

He said he thinks of the process like a “duck on a pond.” Ideally, most people come see the show and enjoy it and laugh and think while the directors, designers, choreographers, music directors, stage managers, crew members, production manager, and the technical directors all are trying to find funds and actors, and student designers and the large group of people are the legs under the pond. He said, “The duck on the pond mentality is always the goal.” 

He said his favorite thing while either directing or producing the show is sitting in the audience and watching their reactions to everything, so every scene is his favorite in a way. He said he thinks that with this particular production, there will be lots of very interesting audience reactions. 

Lindburg said, “I don’t have a specific favorite scene or moment in this script, I just think there will be some very memorable audience reactions and I’ll get some interesting emails and responses.” 

The students and cast and everyone involved have worked very hard on production. Head over to Ankeny Building 5 and find yourself in the audience of one or more of these performances in the Black Box Theatre, coming soon to your Ankeny DMACC Campus.

He said his favorite quote is, “They’ll never know how hard you worked, but they’ll know how long it took you.” He said this relates well to the musical because the actors have worked so hard and it is a really great group of students.