Health & Fitness
Peter Pan opens April 19!
Peter Pan the musical opens at Churchill High School on April 19. Here is the next installment of our "meet the seniors" series, featuring one of Churchill's most accomplished dancers.
In less than a week, the stage at Churchill's Bish Auditorium will be transformed into Neverland and over a hundred students will put on one of the most sensational musicals ever staged at the school.
As "tech week" dawns, the actors, singers, dancers, musicians, and crew are working harder than ever. One of central figures in all of this preparation is Amanda Lotwin, who is the focus of this installment of the Peter Pan in Potomac blog's "meet the seniors" series.
A veteran of Churchill's choral and theater departments, Amanda credits this experience for shaping her personal development. "Showchoir and musical theater really brought me out of my shell," she says. "And they really taught me how to be a leader."
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The fact that Amanda has blossomed into one of the key leaders in the dance components of Churchill productions is no surprise to anyone who has ever seen her grace the stage. This year, Amanda served as dance captain in Blast 24 and in the same role for the advanced show choir Showstoppers. But the highlight of her year has been her role as one of the student choregraphers of Peter Pan. Together with junior Amy Dalrymple, Amanda has choreographed most of the dances, a task she found "very rewarding, but also harder than I thought it would be."
In this leadership role, Amanda had to learn "how to separate our social lives from the work going on inside the theater" in order to manager her peers. But she couldn't be more excited about the show. "It may have started out a bit slow, but rehearsals have really picked up and everyone is doing so well," she says.
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A typically well rounded Churchill senior, Amanda will attend the University of Maryland Honors Program next year and focus on computer engineering. But she plans to continue taking dance classes and hopes to do some theater "on the side."
She summed up her entire Churchill theater experience with this compelling sentiment: "I've made friends that I'm sure I'll keep for the rest of my life."
The Peter Pan in Potomac blog reminds all readers that time is growing short to buy your tickets online at www.wchsarts.com. The musical will be presented this Friday, April 19 at 7:30pm, Saturday, April 20 at 2:00pm and 7:30pm, and Sunday, April 21 at 2:00pm. Group sales can be arranged by contacting Mr. Selman at Scott_A_Selman@mcpsmd.org.
