In just a few short days, the drama department will make FC history by producing the first ever musical, Bye Bye Birdie with an added bonus of a live orchestra.

Performance days will be Friday, March 8, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturday, March 9, at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. Tickets are on sale in the high school office for $10 and $5 for students, seniors and military. Tickets will also be on sale at the door on performance nights.

Bye Bye Birdie is set in the 1950s and was inspired by Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the army. The story also revolves around the life of a music producer and and his struggles.

The production will have added value of a live orchestra to play for all the musical numbers. Music Director Michael Ogdon is pleased with the progression into a more advanced drama performance.

“I’m anticipating that it’ll be fun, but there is some fear for some of the players that are still insecure about some stuff,” Ogdon said. “The good thing is that it is a big enough orchestra that sometimes the things someone doesn’t know will be covered by someone else. I think it’s important to have a live orchestra to make it real, it establishes the fact that we have skills in all areas.”

Drummer Trevor Trevino, ’17, looks forward to the upcoming performances and seeing everything come together on stage.

“I like being in the orchestra because it’s something we’ve never done before,” Trevino said. “I personally, don’t think the music was hard for me to learn but it is enjoyable. I like to practice with the drama class just to see what they are capable of.”

The orchestra has also brought in a few other people with different musical skills and instruments played in hopes of adding even more sound and detail into the music.

Junior Madison Seib enjoys performing with drama and is excited to see everything come together in the end.

“I really like it because it gives the jazz band a chance to work on something new together as a team,” Seib said. “We always meet as a jazz band during zero period except Tuesdays, but now we also have to practice after school on certain days with the drama class. I really like to practice with drama because it is really fun to watch everyone act. I play the clarinet, the music isn’t really hard except for when there are four or five sharps or flats.”

Senior Natalie Ruiz gives insight on what its like to act with a live orchestra.

“This is my first time acting with an orchestra and it’s really fun; it keeps the energy up and the audience enjoys it because it gives them that 1950s feel,” Ruiz said. “Working with the orchestra is kind of challenging because you have to wait for them to start playing and that’s not very hard, its just more of a challenge to listen in.”

These writers can be reached via Twitter: @_sarapeterson @gaby_siqueiros. Follow The Feather via Twitter: @thefeather.

For more features, read the March 4 Campus, community collaborate for Kids Day cause article.