The School Newspaper of Cherry Hill High School East

Eastside

The School Newspaper of Cherry Hill High School East

Eastside

The School Newspaper of Cherry Hill High School East

Eastside

Interview with Brian Reisman (’09)

Q: How does it feel to be done your final show at East?

A: Well it may not be my final show – not because I’m failing, I plan to graduate – but there’s One-Acts this coming spring. There’s a change that I’ll hopefully be involved with them. But in terms of main-stages, it’s over.  It’s a bittersweet feeling, I suppose. I’m happy to be going onto theater in college, but I’m definitely going to miss East and my friends and peers in theater that helped prepare me for college.

 

Q: What plans for acting and singing do you have for the future?

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A: I don’t really have any plans for singing. I kind of do it in the shower more or less … I just got lucky in the show. But acting, I do plan to do in college. I’m definitely going to be studying theater. I’ve got into a few places, so I know I’ll be studying it somewhere.

 

Q: What is your favorite memory in East Theater?

A: I’d probably have to say the people and the friends that I’ve made. I mean, we all do the shows and that’s a great high coming offstage. Every time the show finishes and you pass people in the hall that you’ve worked on the show with, just looking at them, and knowing that you’ve went through two months of pretty rough rehearsal schedules. When you’re out on stage you cover for their mistakes in front of a thousand people; it’s a really cool camaraderie.

 

Q: Do you have any rituals that you do before or after a show?

A: I used to have a lot, but I realized that that was a little bit of a problem sometimes because you get so into it and things never go perfectly; so, I tried to break free of them. I wear my hat as much as I can, even though it’s not allowed in school, my teachers let me. I usually take off all my rings and my necklace. I just get rid of everything that I have with me every day, including my thoughts and my baggage … you just leave it all at the door and pick it up at the door. But when you’re onstage you just leave it all; it’s a nice release sometimes.

 

Q: What was your favorite role to play?

A: I’d probably have to say this past summer, I was in rent and I played the part of Tom Collins. That was probably the most memorable experience I’ve had. Going into it, I didn’t like the show that much [but] I started really to like the music and all of that …  I didn’t like it, so liking it made it even more exciting. Of the singing that I do in the shower, and the music I listen to, its all more rock, pop, modern stuff. It was nice to be in a show without jazz hands. It was just a cool rock and roll, good, modern story.

 

Q: What have you learned from East’s acting department?

A: I’m confident to say that I’ve learned more from theater than I have from any of my classes. I’ve learned how to carry myself with confidence and how to make decisions. And really good work ethic. They’re all really strongly encouraged in theater.

 

Q: Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring East students who wish to do as well as you have?

A: Some people just consider it high school theater and they don’t expect any level of excellence because it’s just an after school activity … but it really is much more than that. Even though we’re just high school students, we can perform at a higher level.

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