A senior at WHS Raul Lopez 18, is a hard working student and a caring friend. He has become Woodhaven High School’s first Romeo in their Romeo and Juliet play that’s coming soon. Lopez loves theater because it allows him to express himself, and relate to the characters that he’s trying to act in. What we have seen is that Lopez is determined to get stuff done when it comes to the things he loves.
He has always loved theater, even saying that it was his passion when he was little. He loved watching movies at MJR with his dad as it was his first time he fell in love with theater, and watching the characters act and speak allowed him to just relate. Lopez said it’s like “Two worlds combining into one.” Theater allows him to connect and relate with the characters that he’s acting and is able to express himself.
For Lopez, rehearsal can be very difficult. Lopez was in Once Upon a Mattress but didn’t have a major-role.When rehearsing there were two parts: a play and a musical. When it’s a musical he has to practice the singing and the dancing depending on what days he’s rehearsing. Lopez said “If you didn’t have comfortable shoes or comfortable clothes you would sweat like a pig.”
When rehearsing the singing and dancing part they are both very much coordinated with each other. Lopez has the main lead as Romeo so he has to stay until 5 p.m. going over lines but overall it’s just “Blocking” for him. Blocking is the location of actors on the stage and the movements that they make. Memorizing lines is a crucial part in theater and it lets him connect with the character he is trying to act so he’s able to pour a little of himself into these characters.
Lopez has had many challenges in his career but his biggest one is line memorization. He practices his lines at home and since this is his first play he only had a handful of lines so memorizing them wasn’t challenging. But because he’s now the main lead he is still facing challenges with his biggest one being able to understand Shakespeare. Lopez said, “It takes a thought process to understand what you’re trying to talk about.” A way he was able to overcome the feat was translating the script into modern English and this helps him find his footing in the character’s speech, and understand the context of the scene.
To be honest, theater can be a little chaotic for some people and in Lopez’s case it’s all laughs and giggles. To avoid spoilers by the time the play is published Lopez has to climb a tower which for him that’s physically demanding. There was also a dance called the Spanish Panic where they danced nonstop, they were doing that three times. During a play Lopez’s pants nearly fell down because they gave him the wrong pants size.
When there are memorable moments there are plenty from joking around backstage while being on standby for the next scene, even practicing throwing fake punches. A famous quote from our main lead,”Sometimes you have to take a punch and sometimes you have to give a punch.” In the context of rehearsing for a fight scene in Romeo and Juliet.
Lopez didn’t start theater till the middle of his Junior year after he saw auditions for Once Upon a Mattress. For him he just tried it and he ended up having a role in the play. Lopez set his site at auditioning after watching the Spongebob musical which sparked his interest. But what really told him to go for it was watching the Mean Girls play.
If you are new to the theater world here’s some advice that you should know. Look for audition dates when they are available and give yourself some context about the character you’re trying to audition for. Just make sure you know what you’re auditioning for.
For many performers auditioning for a role it can be stressful nonetheless. There are times where you’re gonna have to do the scene for the sake of the role. Lopez was never pressured to do a scene but he was uncomfortable about a kissing scene in Romeo and Juliet. There are times where the actor may be asked to do a scene. Furthermore if you can’t go through it talk to the director about it but just know there may be consequences like not getting casted in another role. All because you didn’t look into the role that you are auditioning for.
Lopez is described in many words such as: funky, creative, fun. Although the best way to describe him is Ecstatic. He loves putting his all into the show’s even though he’s only been in two and loves seeing how it plays out. Everyone who has worked with him can agree that he is very ecstatic.
Theater is considered art and the reason it’s considered art is by how it is expressed. Even though most people don’t look at theater as art. Lopez said in an interview that, “I think more and more people should see the beauty of these live shows.” There are such things as a bad musical and the movie that was based on the play. They were equally bad. Lopez truly believes that for the future of theater, it will get a bigger following, and more and more people will appreciate the story telling that these actors and actresses are doing.
