what one could learn from the spongebob musical

hello bikini bottom!

I think if I had told myself last year that I was in Spongebob the Musical, I would have had a very violent reaction. You see, I had developed some sort of odd superiority complex for musicals, that most likely deviated from my parents not allowing me to watch the show when I was little. So I griped a little bit about it being the show choice at my community theatre company, but I still auditioned because I really like performing (and such). And I worried a lot if the show would be good, all the little kids who were going to be in a big show for the first time, and the embarrassment level of telling people I was in the SpongeBob Musical (also you must forgive me: though I was in the show for a multitude of months, I have no idea what order the words go in for the title).

I am pleased to inform you I was cast as Karen the Computer, the wife of the villain Plankton. I am not so pleased to inform you that I was not very happy when this cast list got posted. In my freshman year, I had this not-great (bad) director in my school musical, who told me my typecast was because I was thin and beautiful. There will be a different post on this later, perhaps we shouldn’t dive too deep into this analysis now. But the point, of course, is that this stuck with me— and I was afraid I got Karen for the same reasons.

me as karen! and kevin as plankton!

I was off the heels of two Disney shows from the past year: The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Let me tell you now, these shows are a slog if you’re not a main character. There are not many ensemble numbers and moments, and times offstage could drag on for as long as forty minutes (thanks Act One, Beauty and the Beast). And combined with some backstage drama, the thrill of performing was beginning to wane.

All I wanted was for a second, to feel the way I did when I was in my first few shows— the adrenaline rush on opening night before the giddy feeling afterward because you did it! The feeling of adoring your castmates and sobbing closing night because there would never be an emotion quite like this ever again.

And this feeling came again, through the most unexpected place for me: The SpongeBob Musical. This show was really wonderful— I genuinely wanted to go get ready for the show, tech week didn’t slog on like normal, and I loved all my cast members. I think too often we become too wrapped up in the perfection of it all, and forget that performing was meant to be fun for us. But this changed all this. Karen was a thoroughly entertaining character for me to play— there are so many directions to take her character, and so many opportunities to make the audience laugh. It helped tremendously that my Plankton seemed to be born for that role, and their passion for the show made it so much easier to be a good Karen.

I was worried about all the little kids in the show— for maturity levels and lack of experience being in mainstages. But I am a firm believer that everyone can be learned from, no matter what age. The most lovely thing about having such a plethora of younger kids is their pure enthusiasm for musical theatre. They loved singing, dancing, and the sound of the audience’s applause. They loved testing out the Defying Gravity riff a million times backstage (which became grating) and spraying neon colors into each other’s hair. Being onstage for them was the most exciting thing in the world. And I think somewhere along the way, teenagers have allowed themself to forget that feeling of pure joy. I’m so grateful they’ve allowed me to relearn that.

Yes, the show lacks a level of maturity from a certain standpoint. But I think that’s also what made it important. I don’t believe, at sixteen years old, I should have to display a need for adulthood all the time. I am not very old yet, and while I shall take that stage of my life in stride when it arrives, I do not want to push it sooner while I could be enjoying my youth. The SpongeBob Musical is so much fun in every way, and I think everyone deserves that. I’m so grateful for the show that reminded me why this was my passion in the first place.

Love can come from so many places, and for me, that just happened to be Bikini Bottom.

pictures from @tracymartinphotography on instagram!