Steps To The Stage
Steps To The Stage
Something Rotten Takes The Stage
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Tap battles, rapid-fire jokes, and a cast juggling dozens of characters can sound like chaos. For us, it’s the fun kind of chaos, and it’s exactly what makes Something Rotten such a thrill to bring to 7th Street Theater. We sit down with co-directors Luke and Sarah Hoganrad to talk through the real work behind a big musical comedy, from the first creative conversations to the practical problems that only show up once you’re on your feet in rehearsal.
We dig into why this Broadway musical still lands so well, and why its story about two brothers hits even harder when the directors are siblings themselves. Luke and Sarah share how they lead a teen theater cast (ages 14 to 22) through a demanding process that includes long musical numbers, quick scene pacing, and constant character switching. You’ll hear how they think about giving notes, why it’s a great sign when rehearsal shifts from “fix the basics” to “try a stronger acting choice,” and what it looks like to push young performers beyond what they thought they could do.
Then we get delightfully specific about production: teaching tap to first-timers while staging full numbers, keeping tap volume from overpowering vocals, and designing a set that preserves open space for big choreography. We also spotlight the wider community theater team making it happen, from music staff and assistant choreo to stage management, scenic build, and costume creations that include more eggs than you’d expect. Subscribe, share this with a theater friend, and leave us a review so more listeners can find the show.
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Giving Notes That Actually Land
SPEAKER_00Because like I work in theater like professionally. And so like I've been in professional things where people are getting the corrective notes and not getting the acting notes. So it's really cool to be in a teen theater in a in a teen space where they are so receptive to our notes. And not only are they receptive to them, they are taking them.
Meet The Co-Directors And Show
SPEAKER_02Welcome to Steps to the Stage, a 7th Street community theater podcast.
SPEAKER_03Hey theater friends, welcome to Steps to the Stage, where we talk to the theater professionals you know and love. I'm your host, Kirk Lane, and today we are so excited to talk with Luke and Sarah Hoganrad, who are going to be our co-directors for the upcoming production on our stage here at the 7th Street Theater, Something Rotten, which is running June 19th through July 4th. Welcome back.
SPEAKER_00Yay! It's great to be back.
Why Something Rotten Still Hits
SPEAKER_03So did a little research. Something Rotten was written fairly recently. And it actually had its Broadway debut on April 22nd, 2015, at the uh 2015, 2015, 2015, at the St. James Theater, and it was nominated for 10 Tonies and actually won for Best Actor. And this is a book by Kerry Kirkpatrick, John O'Farrell, and the music and lyrics are by Wayne and Carrie Kirkpatrick. I sense there might be a relation there. And along with Luke and Sarah, we have on your team Caleb, who is helping with your music. Yes. Right. And then who else is part of the production?
SPEAKER_00We also have Kelsey, uh, who's our assistant music director, and Maddie McGowan is our assistant choreographer. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I love it.
SPEAKER_00Of a pretty big team.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and then also scenic design is going to Mickey Estrella. I love that as well.
SPEAKER_00Davy is our stage manager.
SPEAKER_03Well, Luke and Sarah have been on our program before, but we are very excited to have them back. And the reason for me personally is because I, when we started here, you guys were on stage and you were acting. And um, I know you've done some things with my kids as well. So I've got, you know, we we have a special place in your heart in the lane family. So um, but we're glad to see now these k kids, now adults, graduating. Congratulations, and um um some getting their education in theater as well, which is just fantastic. And they're coming back here, and they're what we like to say, paying it forward. And they are running camps as we came in today. Um, thousands of kids were roaming around the theater, moms and dads looking, and so on top of directing, you're also helping with camps, and so you guys are the personification of giving back,
Directing A Brother Story As Siblings
SPEAKER_03and we so appreciate it. But let's talk about something rotten, let's talk about the journey here.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um, it's awesome. We actually saw something rotten, the original cast, yeah um, back in probably either 2015 or 2016. So it was like 10 years ago. So I was like 18, Luke was like a child, yeah, very young. Um, and we loved it. Uh I think I saw it three times um when I was in school.
SPEAKER_03Um and this is in New York.
SPEAKER_00In New York, yeah.
SPEAKER_03On Broadway.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Um, it's so we just we've always loved the show.
SPEAKER_01It was one of the first Broadway shows I've ever seen, first professional shows I've ever seen. Oh, really? Okay. I'd say it's probably like within the first five. So yeah, it's it's a part of like my roots of loving theater.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's great. And then so as I did some research, I found that this is the story itself is about Nick and Nigel Bottom. And essentially they're competing with some guy who's written a couple things that people know about.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, some some shake is a little bard shaky beard.
SPEAKER_03Shaky beard or um so and so you guys have directed before or co-directed before. Tell us about this particular production. This was something you brought to our our team here at at CCCT.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we um we really like the idea because we have worked on shows together, but we've never, I don't think we've actually been on a creative team of a show besides like a camp show together.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, but like I've been on creative teams of shows that Luke's been in and stuff like that. And we've been in shows together, but we've never like ran a show together. Um, and it's special because the show at the heart of it are these brothers. Um, and like since we are siblings, I it just it resonates with us, like this older brother and this and this younger brother that like just can't get on the same page. Um, it's special for us to be able to work on a story that's about that as siblings. And Cole's helping a little bit too, which is our other brother, which is like hilarious. He was here last night doing some 3D scanning.
SPEAKER_03Um well, I mean, we talk about this all the time, like it it takes
Big Choreo And Teaching Tap Fast
SPEAKER_03up a village, and and it's great to have your family and friends that are doing this. Now, this is a musical as well, so it has that extra challenge on top of that. Um, but it sounds like you've got some great support in Kelsey and Caleb and and them obviously having such a not only background here, but in college and and whatnot. And in fact, I think Caleb's giving a voice lesson right now. Yes, he was gonna be on, but unfortunately, you know, duty call. So um, so that's gotta be helpful for you guys. And then um, is there a choreography of law?
SPEAKER_00Okay, it is a big dance show. Yes, um a lot of tap number. So it's a big undertaking, and I'm choreographing, and it's a lot, and I'm so grateful to have Maddie as my sister choreographer because she's like picking up pieces for me. Yeah, and she's in the show too, so she can also like come up to me after the run and be like, something went wrong during this part that like I didn't necessarily see, but she felt on stage. Um, and it's it's big tap numbers, and the majority of our cast hasn't ever tapped before. So we're like teaching them to tap in real time that we're also teaching them the number that they're gonna be tapping in. Um, but they've like locked in. Like we were watching a run last night and they were tapping so well. It was amazing.
SPEAKER_01That's fantastic. And then there's also like, as far as choreo goes, it's there's like three songs that are eight minutes long.
SPEAKER_00Like they're they're long songs.
SPEAKER_01It's ridiculous. And so long.
SPEAKER_00They're long and they're funny, which is nice because it's not like it's long and it's boring, it's like it's long because it's a joke that just they keep building and building and building and building on the joke. So um, it is fun and it gives us the challenge of like we need to build and build and build and build with the dancing to match the energy of the joke that's happening because this show is like just joke after joke after joke after joke, so it's a fast-paced, yes, quick musical. It is a quick adult humor body comedy. Like it is it is very, very fun.
Cast Size Quick Changes And Props
SPEAKER_03Now, what is the age ranges of your cast?
SPEAKER_01We are I just blanked, uh 14 to 22. Okay. The the teen range, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Got it the teen range. So that's good because then most of them have some type of experience either acting, singing, or dancing. And I'm sure there's some that don't at all, and you have to figure that out. But yeah, um I think we have both 14 and 22.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we have the whole range of ages. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And what's the number of um people in the cast?
SPEAKER_00We have 21 people in our cast.
SPEAKER_03And they're all that it's not a dual cast thing, it's they have a role as part of the unsemble.
SPEAKER_00And most of them are playing like a million different characters.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there's like I think like 48 roles.
SPEAKER_00Everybody's just changing the entire time, coming on as this person, then this person.
SPEAKER_03That had to be crazy getting off book for that. And yeah, I mean, just the lines and the singing a lot.
SPEAKER_00We're nervous for dress rehearsal because our costume designer Debbie Horner, she's doing like amazing work, and they're all gonna look an amazing person on top of that. Yeah, they're gonna look so good. But we're like, y'all have to practice changing.
SPEAKER_01Like Oh, I didn't even think of that. Yeah, I think it's like there's some crazy costumes. Like, there's an egg right next to you. Like, it's it's not normal costume.
SPEAKER_03I know we're an audio forward uh uh podcast, but for the listeners, some we usually record in the green room, but there's another production that's coming after yours, Oz, I believe, that is is rehearsing in there. So we're in the women's dressing room, and we're surrounded by quite literally an egg to my left, some locker rooms, a bunch of wigs that are somewhat scary just by themselves on some, you know, and then different clothes, but it actually is great for recording in here. But that that I mean, this goes back to the beauty of this particular theater is there's something going on all the time, all the time, right? Whether it's you know an adult production, a teen production, kids production, camps, we're doing you know, stuff for the local community stuff here as well. So that's fantastic. Yeah, that's a little nerve-wracking, I would imagine, between the different parts, learning the lines, learning the blocking, learning the choreo, learning the changes. Now, since we're talking about it, let's just throw in another thing. Is it prop heavy?
SPEAKER_00Is it set change heavy, or is it kind of an open Mickey's done a really good job of making an interesting set where we don't have to move things that much, and so we're a lot of the sets have be set pieces have become props that we're like bringing in and out and out.
SPEAKER_01Our set compises two boxes, a table, and a chair.
SPEAKER_00And I think like that's those are like the things that come in and out, and then like one wall, and then there's like walls that stay on the stage and that like can change a little bit on stage. Yeah. Um, she was really smart in making it to where because you know we only have so much space on the stage, we want to do these big dance numbers. So she approached it with like the idea of like we need to keep the middle open, so what can we do throughout um to make it so we have space the whole time.
SPEAKER_03And shout out to Mickey, who is also going to school in New York and focusing on my alma mater. Yes, and she's focusing on theater as well. Yes, and then she also is going to be directing a little bit later in the summer, right? Very soon, yeah. And I know Marley, my daughter, is directing as well. And she just you know finished her finished her master's.
SPEAKER_00It's a big summer of alumni of this theater, which is really cool.
SPEAKER_03And alumni, I say it often just not only as a dad, but just as a uh a theater person. Like, I love that this group of people, like this is your career. You know, this is where you started, then you're you're getting your education, and whether it's a focus on theater or not, you're coming back and doing things at our theater to help the next person in line. And this is the thing that I bring up all the time. It's amazing to me, or or something that I love, and and as a performer, is there's gonna be someone in the audience that's gonna go to this production and they're gonna key in on something, and that's gonna be their motivation to come and audition for something and and be a part of it. And so just that motivation and that that next line that's coming through, that's fantastic. Um, so props you said were meh, they're just what you need.
SPEAKER_00There's just a there's a lot of props, but like a lot of them just come in for a gag for 30 seconds and like they get talked about once and you never see them again. We never see we have a lot of eggs, a lot of eggs. Yes. We raided a bunch of Easter clearance aisles for eggs.
SPEAKER_03I love that. Um, the uh the cast itself,
Off Book Run And Better Notes
SPEAKER_03are they doing well up to this point?
SPEAKER_01They're doing really well. Yes, really well. We are about like three weeks from three weeks up from opening. And last night we did like our first full run, and it's timing. Our first run off book. Yeah, it was off book.
SPEAKER_03And and you guys have been around this enough. Yeah. Was it a good night or was it a it was pretty good?
SPEAKER_00We lost the plot a little bit in the last couple scenes, but they knew most of the lines, which is great. Yeah, so it was pretty successful.
SPEAKER_01It was awesome. And yeah, the like our notes are already very like nitpicky, things we can focus on like really early on, so that's just gonna be a lot of things.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's really awesome that we're not having to give people as many corrective notes. It's more like, hey, can you try this acting choice? Which is like special that we get to do that with them. Because like I work in theater like professionally, and so like I've been in professional things where people are getting the corrective notes and not getting the acting notes. So it's really cool to be in a teen theater in a in a teen space where they are so receptive to our notes, and not only are they receptive to them, they are taking them, and that is really, really fun to see is like somebody's doing a scene completely different than they did the night before because they took the note.
SPEAKER_03Well, and that must free you up as directors as well, because now you know you have some creative influence that you can provide at this point instead of this is what they're gonna be able to handle, and that's it, right? They're they're at that point where you said you're doing those some of those creative things, yeah, getting the corrective stuff done sooner. So that's that that's gotta feel refreshing as directors, yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's also been cool a lot of the like I've worked with a lot of these kids before, and they're being pushed so far beyond their limits that they've ever done before.
SPEAKER_00We are made we're not going easy on that. Yeah, like this show is hard. But like they're performing.
SPEAKER_01They're doing great. So it's cool to be able to like push them to 250% and then them still be able to pull it off. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And and still come back the next night and be like energized from giving that, yeah, knowing that the end product is gonna be so much better than if they just kind of phoned it in.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And that's tough, right? So that had to be difficult when you were casting, in knowing that probably this is what was gonna happen, and then deciding who's gonna be able to, you know, keep what keep up with that, I guess.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was it was really crazy in our auditions and in our callbacks. We just threw a lot at a lot of people. We were like we did not go easy in the callback and stuff like that, but it was fun to see um like the people that are in the show and even some people who who weren't casting the show, like really stepping up to the plate and like making bold choices and trying things. Um, it was just it was really special to see like people doing things that we've never seen them do before.
SPEAKER_03Now, did most of the cast have familiarity with the with the actual production itself, or was it fairly new to them?
SPEAKER_00A lot of them do. It's actually funny. Wesley, our um he plays our lead, Nick Bottom. He came in already knowing the tap battle choreography from the original broader production. Really? So we were like, okay, just do that, because he does it by himself.
SPEAKER_03So we're like, if you already know that, just like anyone else seen it live or just probably online.
SPEAKER_00Him and his sister have like a they both know it. Yeah, they know it. And so it was nice because we didn't even know he knew it, like going into casting him, and then we cast him, and then he was like, Hey guys, I already know this thing if you want me to do it. We were like, uh yeah.
SPEAKER_01They filmed like a tap tutorial on YouTube, and it was like, Cool, do it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, doesn't it just blow you away the amount of talent we have in this area? Yeah, and well, and we give them a stage to be able to do the song and the camps and all the different opportunities. So we shouldn't be surprised, but I love that we are um moved by that, right? To see that creativity, and that's the thing too, for that I always like is it's not a competition. Yeah, certain people are gonna be better in certain areas and they're gonna raise others to that level, and vice versa, they're gonna bring each other up when they need to.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
Tech Planning And The Tap Sound Problem
SPEAKER_03So talk to me a little bit about the technical side of it lighting, audio, who's helping you with that, what's the look? What's what what are we going for?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so we actually we haven't started the design for lights yet. That's coming up this week. Next week.
SPEAKER_00Um, but we have a giant crew that's led by Davy Bot. Basically, they're going to do like a collaborative designing experience that's led by Davy. And so there's like five people on this, and five people on this, and five people on this, and five people on this. We have a ton of crew, and it's gonna be awesome.
SPEAKER_03I agree it's gonna be awesome. And I know Davy and was uh lucky enough when she started in high school to get into tech. Um, we kind of helped them through that process, and then this group came out of it, and they've been doing so much at our theater. So to hear that, you are in great hands, it's gonna be wonderful. They know the tech stuff here better than I do at this point, and um uh and again, it's I love that we're using people from our local theater or local schools, and now I know she's going to Northridge as well, and um, that's fantastic. Sound is there outside of the music, is there anything you're going for? Any is there sound effects?
SPEAKER_00Is there there's actually not many sound effects. There's a lot of uh figuring out tap shoes, and uh that's been a thing we've been having to focus on the past couple days is like not tapping louder than you're singing. Um, because there's one moment when Caleb and I like grabbed each other because they were doing this, they were doing time steps and they were singing a big note and we couldn't hear the big note. They were like, please tap quieter, I'm gonna have to cut that dance move.
SPEAKER_03Ah, I had never thought of that.
SPEAKER_00So that's been our biggest sound.
SPEAKER_01Like we're in a little smaller theater, so and in that wood stage, and it it can pop if you're there's definitely a level of like our lead Wesley, he's has to like stay on stage almost the entire show. Yes, so he'll have to put his tap shoes on.
SPEAKER_00And we're like, when is he gonna put them on? He's not gonna be. And like last night we were running a really emotional scene, and he crosses the stage and we just heard tip tap tip tap. We were like, that's not gonna work. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Finding that balance of making sure that it's heard, but it's been our biggest sound question is what do we do about all these taps?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like as far as like sound effects. I think the script called for one that we're doing like live.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so it's largely the music.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's music. Yeah, I think it's just music.
SPEAKER_00There's a lot of like underscoring in the scenes too. Yes, um, that is like all provided by them, which is awesome. Um, because yeah, any the only sound effect that we're doing is Julio is sprinting around doing it practically and it works. Nice.
SPEAKER_03And so, what about production house managers? Who's helping you with that?
SPEAKER_01That is Cheryl. Yes, our producer Cheryl. I know her.
SPEAKER_00I don't know if you've heard of her.
SPEAKER_03I've met her once before. Once before.
SPEAKER_00She's hoping to train some people under her wing. Okay. So if you're listening to this and you would like to be trained, reach out to Cheryl. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03We need help on everything. Is there anyone else you want to talk about or anyone, anything else about the process?
SPEAKER_00Our mom's gonna be playing with some wigs and facial hair. Love that, which is gonna be great.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, uh, Debbie Horner is our customer.
SPEAKER_03Yes, she's wonderful and incredible.
SPEAKER_01Incredible. We said, Hey, can you make an egg? And she was like, I'll figure it out. Yeah, she's just been sending us the most insane photos over easy or sunny side up. Right, right, right. It's hilarious. We said, Hey, we want cod pieces. She said, What are those? And we said, We'll figure it out.
SPEAKER_00So I love that. We have um Mark and Brian building our set. Um, it's it's a huge group effort, this show. Yeah. Um, we got the Myers helping out with uh novelties and those sorts of things. Um, it's gonna be really, really fun and collaborative, which is what we love. Which is also like why we have such a big team, is just because we like working with people.
SPEAKER_03And that's good because then you spread that experience out to everyone. And who knows, one of those people may be the future director for uh a production year.
Tickets Community Support And Farewell
SPEAKER_03So Something Rotten runs June 19th through July 4th. Tickets are available now. You can go to chinochildrenstheater.org or you can call the box office at 909-590-1149. We'll put links in the show notes as well. Um come and get your tickets and come and see this production. It's gonna be a blast. I could tell already by the energy we have in here and hearing the people that are involved. Listeners, you're in for a great, great treat. So please come and check this production out. And we know we have listeners all over the place, so as we always say, just support your local theater, whether it's a kindergarten production, whether it is a regional production, or if you're going to Broadway, just support your theater. And we want to hear from you, so please send us your notes so you can follow us on all of the socials. We do appreciate any reviews that you can leave for us on your podcast platforms. Um, five-star ratings are very helpful to get our word out there. So thank you so much, Luke and Sarah, for spending some time today, but especially for giving up so much time that you have to to be able to put on a production like this. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00We're so happy to be doing this production. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03All right, get your tickets, everyone. Thank you so much. Thanks for listening to Steps to the Stage, a 7th Street Community Theater podcast. Follow us on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review and a five-star rating. It really helps. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Special thanks to Chino Community Theater and Chino Community Children's Theater for their generous support. And very special thank you to the listeners. Step to the stage was created by Joey Rice and Kirk Lane. Logo created by Marley Lane. Original music by Joey Rice. Your host, Kirk Lane. Engineer and producer, Joey Rice, engineer and executive producer, Kirk Lane.
