Madrigals sheds new light on Renaissance era

Junior Brayden Ruland, Jester, and senior Nicole Zaknoun, Wench, entertain the audience with comedic commentary. The cast performs Dec. 13 - Dec. 14 in the auditorium.

Junior Brayden Ruland, Jester, and senior Nicole Zaknoun, Wench, entertain the audience with comedic commentary. The cast performs Dec. 13 – Dec. 14 in the auditorium.

Abby Blazevic, Co-Editor-in-Chief


The 41st annual Madrigals performance brings to life the Christmas season in the Renaissance era.
Madrigals is a singing performance that also includes actors who entertain the audience with a script in between songs.
Singers and actors must audition to be a part of the performances and many students decided to audition for different reasons.
“I liked that it stood out. I didn’t want to do something that everyone else did. Madrigals is something that few people know about, and it’s so much fun,” Zach Icenogle, junior, said.
Much work is put into the composition of the production, and the singers can face difficulties when it comes to the complexity of the songs.
“The foreign language pieces are the hardest because we need to make sure that the pronunciation of the vowels and consonants are correct,” Jordan McCully, junior, said.
Signers have been preparing since the summer for these performances. However, it can be difficult to rehearse when some students are involved in other activities.
“We’ve had to juggle a lot with students being involved in activities and clubs throughout first semester, so a lot has fallen on the students to find rehearsal time individually to prepare all of the music and lines,” Nathan Rancatore, choir director, said.
Singing and acting can be seen as two of the most important aspects of the performance; however, there are other factors that help create the show that are favored by the cast.
“The costumes, environment that we create with making the stage look like a castle, and the overall atmosphere is amazing,” Mattheia Rudolph, senior, said.
Throughout the process of creating the production, singers and actors spend a lot of time together during rehearsals.  They also have team bonding such as going ice skating and bonding during the Madrigals festival according to senior Jenna Homan.