Vanguard Theatre Spring Productions

The Vanguard Theatre department is back to showing productions in the Lyceum Theatre. It is an exciting time for theatre students as they can finally rehearse and perform in person. During Fall 2021 they had three productions which were Love Makes the World Go Round, an original play by Vanda Eggington, Rumors by Neil Simon, and the Cordray Christmas Variety Hour, an original play by Ryan Miller, and Sasha Miller. 

Theatre continues to put in a great amount of hard work and dedication as they begin to prepare for the Spring productions.

 The first show they will be performing is Mamma Mia! based upon the hit movie. One of the main characters, Sophie, is preparing for her big wedding and has a surprise in store. She wrote letters to three men from her mother, Donna’s, past life in hope of discovering who her father is. Tickets go on sale on Jan. 24th, 2022. The shows take place starting on Feb. 25th and ending on Mar. 13th. 

The next production they are putting on is Harvey, written by Mary Chase and directed by Susan K. Berkompas. This show is about Elwood P. Dowd, and his imaginary friend Harvey, a six-foot-tall rabbit. When he tries to talk about Harvy at his sister, Veta’s, society luncheon, Veta decides to send him to a sanitarium. A mix-up occurs, in which Veta is placed in the sanitarium initiating a crazy chain of events. Tickets go on sale on Mar. 7th. The first showing takes place on Apr. 1st and the final is on Apr. 10th. 

Jenna Lockwood, Junior and major of Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Musical Theatre provided some insight on the behind-the-scenes work that the Theatre Department does. 

Lockwood explained, “Specifically for the show I was in, we started rehearsals a week before school even started.” 

She continued to mention how they had a week-long rehearsal camp, where they would practice starting at 10:00 a.m. and ending at about 6:00 p.m. They learned the whole show in that time and then further rehearsals would revolve around perfecting and correcting all details needed. Specifically for musicals, the cast must learn every dance, every song, every harmony, and musical technique. 

Additionally, they also have a tech week where they begin to incorporate lighting, sets, and microphones. This can be difficult for theatre at times because they have been doing some of their productions outside. 

The theatre program at Vanguard not only teaches theatre students the necessary skills and disciplines for their practice but also guides them to work for the Glory of God. 

Lockwood mentions, “Every single person in this department is so supportive and very loving to eachother. It is a very very Christian-based theatre department as well. We pray before every rehearsal. We pray before every show.”

She continues to add, “One of the most special things we do is when we bow at the end of every show we always point up to God. I think that is really special because our main purpose was to perform for God.” 

There are multiple ways to purchase tickets which can vary in price based upon age. Anyone can contact the box office at (714)-668-6145. They are available Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. They are also available through email, at the address boxoffice@vanguard.edu. Tickets are also available to purchase at www.vanguardtickets.com which also has more information on specific show times and dates.