Turning Setbacks into Success: The Story Behind ‘Dreaming Wide Awake’
Phoebe Zhang ‘26
On Wednesday, October 16th, hours before the final run through, Class IV Follies’ production team received an alarming message: a cast member was injured and could no longer make the performance. However, this incident did not stop the thirteen Class IV actors from making their Milton Academy debut in “Dreaming Wide Awake” just 36 hours later; the team, especially the cast, coped with sudden changes thanks to six weeks of hard work and dedication.
From the start, the production team faced many challenges. The show weaved five different well-known storylines—Roald Dahl’s BFG, James Thurber’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, and the 1992 movie A League of Their Own—together. This design pressured the team to be original, a challenge that the director, Mr. Caron, and the production team tackled by making constant changes. “I was playing around with cuts and weaving sections together until the last week of September,” Mr. Caron said. The team also tried to cover the set in tin foil to create an immersive experience for the audience. However, the crew struggled with limited timing and decided to take this part of the set down to bolster other elements.
These constant changes along with a tight rehearsal schedule (actors only had five weeks with the script) put pressure on the cast. They found it hard to manage the constant changes, all while trying to master the choreography and songs connecting the five storylines, within a short time frame. Cast members echoed these challenges. Caira Rahim ‘28 reported that the cast “had to learn everything, add costumes, and props fairly quickly.” Mia Xu ‘28 agreed, saying “we had a lot of work to do in very little time.”
These setbacks, though (or perhaps through) causing frustration, taught the cast an important lesson: collaboration. Puzzled when trying to grasp a choreography quickly, the cast “[looked] at each other for approval,” according to cast member Hannah Shneidman ‘28. To portray new dimensions of classic characters, they also depended on each other; Xu recalled working with Lrya Dvorin ‘28 and Mr. Caron to modify the iconic characters of Dorothy and Alice from The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland—“Mr. Caron really worked with us to add a mean girl dynamic to our characters and make them different from the audience’s expectations.” Eventually, collaboration became the core of rehearsals. Their teamwork even surprised Ms. Forest, the choreographer for the show. Reflecting on a specific rehearsal, Ms. Forest shared that “The Sweet Dreams choreography began as a small idea. However, because everyone added their own ideas and moves, the piece came together in such a new, exciting way!”
With teamwork as a strong shield, the cast did not flinch after receiving the last-minute message. The cast and crew took on the challenge and welcomed Vivienne Mockenhaupt ‘27 to alternate for the injured cast member. “The cast was so supportive when I joined last minute,” Mockenhaupt reported, “when I did something wrong, they would work around it, and sometimes they would help guide me where I was unsure of blocking.” Because of the team's resilience, the production team had “Dream Wide Awake” together for opening night, the night before Parents Day. On that night, and the closing night that followed, applause and laughter filled the auditorium: the creative elements in the show and the strong, immersive experience captivated the audience.
That the team overcame all the difficulties through collaboration when preparing for the show did more than just allow the audience to experience a spectacular performance. It spoke to the competence, passion, and professionalism of Class IV actors and, more importantly, left the cast with valuable memories for the rest of their Milton journey. As Shneidman attested, the cast “shared struggles and happy moments that were relatable.” This experience, according to Rahim, “created friendship within the cast.” “We are very close,” Rahim added, “and I hope we will all keep that amazing bond during our Milton career!”