Charlotte Balla | Staff Photographer

On March 27, Cast n’ Crew — one of WashU’s three student-run theater groups — will open “Carrie,” a musical adapted from the 1974 Stephen King novel of the same name. “Carrie” was King’s first novel, and it is widely considered to have reshaped the genre of horror fiction.

“It’s been adapted into a film a few times, and this is the musical adaptation of it. It’s about a girl who is ostracized by her peers in high school, and it’s also about her very complex and often scary relationship with her mom,” senior Charlie Emanuel, the show’s director, said.

“There is a supernatural element, but that’s not the scariest part of the show. ‘Carrie’, to me, is about the scary aspects of your peers, the scary aspect of your familial relationships. And sometimes the scariest part of your life could be what’s going on in your own head,” he said.

Emanuel joined Cast n’ Crew last year, performing in several shows and co-directing others. 

“I realized that for ‘Carrie,’ the last chance I would have to do student theater, I wanted to go as big as possible, and so I applied to direct it,” Emanuel said.

Emanuel has an intriguing philosophy on directing that, at first glance, seems counterintuitive.

“I wanted to be very prepared for everything, but also super open minded. … When I was going through the script, I had a vision for every line, every word, every beat in the show, how I wanted the lights to look, what costumes I wanted to be worn, how I wanted actors to perform something,” he said. “But ever since then, I’ve asked people, ‘What do you think? How do you want to change it?’ Especially with our actors. I’ve always told them, ‘Follow your inclinations. If you’re naturally inclined to do the exact opposite of what I tell you, forget what I told you and do what feels right.’”

All the shows for the year are chosen over the summer, but preparations for “Carrie” began with auditions in November.

“What I look for [in an actor] is that they have fun with whatever they’re performing. It could be from a comedic piece, it could be from a very scary, dramatic piece, but I want to make sure they have fun. … And then at callbacks, I definitely want to see a lot of flexibility. I want to see how actors put their spin on different scenes or different songs,” Emanuel said.

Emanuel estimated that about 50% of those who auditioned were cast in the show, with a total of 17 actors cast. Emanuel also emphasized that Cast n’ Crew welcomed new performers alongside long-standing club members. 

“Everyone who I have worked with in the past definitely had a leg up in the sense that I knew how incredible they were, but then all of our new faces had a leg up in that I saw how much potential they had, … and I think you could see that, how many new friends we have in our production this year.”

Cast n’ Crew’s name refers to what makes them unique: The cast and crew are a single, cohesive group. Performers and crew members alike help build sets, crew members from one show audition for roles in the next, and actors similarly switch to crew roles. 

“It’s not Cast or Crew, it’s Cast and Crew,” Emanuel said.

Matt Kraut, a first-year architecture student in Sam Fox and Cast n’ Crew’s set designer, served on crew in middle and high school.

“At the beginning of the fall semester at the Activities Fair, I was looking around at the different theater clubs, and I wanted one that wasn’t just for cast. A lot of them seemed like they put a lot more emphasis on the actors, and Cast n’ Crew is literally in the name, and they were really excited when I said that I wanted to do crew,” Kraut said.

Kraut has participated in all three of this year’s Cast n’ Crew productions, serving as the set designer for two other shows, as well as being the master carpenter for one. He also explained how the process of set design, including designing and building the set for each performance, can dramatically vary show by show. 

“For this one, the director [Emanuel] had a pretty strong vision of what he wanted. So my job was less of making something new and more of taking his vision and making it a reality. In some past shows, like ‘She Kills Monsters,’ I knew the general layout, but I had more freedom with where each specific wall piece would be. And once we get out of the first production meeting, I tend to have a little bit more freedom with it,” Kraut said.

Still, developing the set for “Carrie” has come with unique tasks, especially related to integrating the supernatural elements into the backdrop. 

“‘Carrie’ has definitely been a challenge with its eight different flats, and four of them move and spin around, some of them split apart. … So it’s been a lot of moving pieces, which is a lot more challenging, but it’s a lot more fun. ‘Trail to Oregon’ was just five static flats … so once we built it, my role was done. Now my role keeps going throughout the process, which I’m having a lot of fun with,” Kraut said.

Cast n’ Crew hopes the work they’ve put into managing these complexities will pay off in the final product.

“Every single person has put their heart and soul into this show. Looking back, I know I’ve spent countless hours, both at my computer and in our theater, working on stuff. The cast has shown so much dedication…The show looks like it’s gonna be an awesome time.” Emanuel said.

“Carrie” will have a total of six shows in the Village Black Box, running from March 27-28 and April 3-4. Tickets are being sold at the Cast n’ Crew table in the Danforth University Center from 11a.m.-2p.m. until March 27. 

Charlotte Balla | Staff Photographer