Brock Musical Theatre is stepping out of the box and taking on Broadway’s most iconic flop of all time, Carrie, for this year’s production.
Brock Musical Theatre (BMT) is a BUSU-ratified club that has been operating since 2005 as a non-profit theatre organization, allowing them to put on amateur licensed productions. Split into five levels, BMT is run by an executive team who oversees the musicals creative team, cast, and crew as well as the general members of the club. While operating under BUSU, BMT functions structurally as a community theatre company.
Brock Musical Theatre’s 2023/24 seven-person executive team was elected by last year’s club members, including the past executives, creative teams, cast, crew and band members. “Unlike previous years, we have an executive team of more than four,” Kian Diab, one of BMT’s vice presidents said. “With a new structure implemented this year our executives can produce as well as […] apply to hold a secondary role in [the] creative [team] or cast,” Diab said. This change allows for a more equal distribution of power so that BMT can avoid any bias and move away from the top-down model of decision-making.
This year the BMT executive team has chosen the musical Carrie. The decision was voted upon by each executive member from a list of ten options taking into consideration potential venues, the cost of the show, the cast size and diversity, musical score and content. “We use past productions’ casts and creative members to try and figure out what show could fit BMT best,” said Megan Brady, BMT’s marketing coordinator. “[Brock Musical Theatre] tries to change the shows every year to [fit] different themes and styles so that there is an opportunity for everyone at Brock University to perform a show they enjoy,” Brady said.
Following Little Women in 2021/22 and Cabaret in 2022/23, Diab stated that their reasoning for choosing Carrie is that it is “a show unlike any other.” While Carrie’s original run was far from a win, the show developed a cult-like following that led to a successful 2012 revival.
This is the path BMT is trying to follow. Like Cabaret, it brings in an artistic niche of theatre kids, but Carrie also takes the audience on an exciting ride. “At the core of it, there is a message that is too real to be ignored, baked into a theatrical masterpiece with so much possibility to make it your own,” Diab said. He also noted that Carrie could bring in performers who didn’t want to be a part of the politics of Cabaret and didn’t connect with the classic characters of Little Women.
Brock Musical Theatre is always looking for new members. “The biggest shame is talent going unrecognized and we love new faces and artists coming to work with us,” said Diab. BMT encourages anyone to audition for their shows, no matter their level of experience. For those who don’t feel comfortable auditioning, there are also slots available in the crew, band and creative team. In addition to the musical, BMT also runs various public events. This allows people who are not involved in the musical to become involved with the club.
“[Brock Musical Theatre] started as a passion project with nothing but the hope of putting on theatre,” Diab said, “[and] BMT has grown dramatically and continues to push to become more professional and artistic.” BMT’s yearly musical is one of the many ways both incoming and current students can connect with other people in a space that also allows for the creation of team-driven art.
For more questions regarding Brock Musical Theatre as a whole, you can reach out to brockmusicaltea@gmail.com. For updates on Carrie and other clubs going on, students are encouraged to interact with BMT’s Instagram @brockmusicalt.