Grease is the word! And word on the street is that you can see it this weekend at Hart House. The Trinity College Drama Society is presenting the classic musical Grease from February 8 – 10. I was able to send some questions to director Luis Sanchez as well as Shunsho Ando Heng who is pulling triple duty as the Technical Director and Lighting Designer, as well as playing Doody in the production.

Luis Sanchez – Director

1. Could you please introduce yourself to my readers, as well as your role with Grease?

Hello View From The Box readers! My name is Luis Sanchez I am an early career director, producer, and writer based in Toronto. I love Comedy, working with talented eager actors, and Rock and this show was the perfect opportunity to do all three at once. I am more than happy to be the Director of GREASE alongside being one of the producers.

2. What initially drew you to the story of Grease?

Looking back I think I’ve been preparing for this show my whole life, growing up I had songs from “Vaselina”, the Spanish language version of the play being blasted at full volume across the house and engrained into my brain. It seemed only natural that when I had the opportunity to mount a production at the 440 seat Hart House Theatre, I would be drawn to one of the flashiest and most iconic musicals ever. What I found key to properly be engage in the story is an understanding this musical is a parody. It’s a vibrant, exaggerated portrayal of the teenage lifestyle, complete with its own quirks, flaws, and charm. In this production, we embraced the big, loud, and raunchy spirit of Grease. We didn’t shy away from its boldness or its sometimes-over-the-top portrayal of adolescence.

3. Do you have a favourite moment from the rehearsal process?

My Favourite moment in rehearsal was workshopping character moments and stage business with my actrs during the early blocking and staging rehearsals. This show is filled with carefully crafted blink-and-you’ll miss It moments of ingenious business and creating those and then seeing them blossom through the run was special. Also, literally any blocking with the T-birds was amazing because you can have so much fun with their characters.

4. Why do you think Grease still speaks to us today?

Grease I think, will always speak to whoever watches. It’s one of those rare musicals where every number is just as iconic and special as the next. Whether it’s the experience of fitting in, changing oneself for love, or dealing with peer pressure, these are experiences that everyone can relate to. Grease’s themes of teenage love, rebellion, and the quest for identity are universal in scope and provide a little bit of escapism from our everyday life

5. What’s your favourite song from Grease?

While Grease Lightning is definitely one of our standout numbers in the show, I have a soft spot for “Freddy My love”. I think it might be my favourite and Kylee Martinez’s absolutely owns the song as Marty Maraschino. I have been humming it backstage and around the theatre subconsciously for two weeks!

Shunsho Ando Heng – Technical Director, Lighting Director, Doody

1. Could you please introduce yourself to my readers, as well as your role with Grease?

Hello! My name is Shunsho Ando Heng and I am a second year in the joint Theatre Drama Studies program at the University of Toronto Mississauga with Sheridan College. I started getting into theatre in Grade 7 at my school in Singapore and ever since then, I have fallen in love with the art.

I am the Technical Director and Lighting Designer for Grease and have also been given the honor of playing the role of Doody.

As the Technical Director, my role is to manage the various departments of the show such as sets, props, costumes, lights, sound, and stage management to ensure that the departments run efficiently and work together to help create the world of Grease! A key part of my role is ensuring all the technical details align with the show’s artistic vision while maintaining the safety of the cast and crew members during the production.

As the Lighting Designer, I plan out anything to do with the lights for the show making sure actors can be seen on stage while also creating an immersive world for the audience. I work closely with the sets and costume departments to ensure the lights work well with these elements. As a lighting designer, I work with the director and the actors to highlight key moments of the show while making the rest of the stage visually appealing to capture the audience’s attention.

Doody is a fun, light-hearted character and is the youngest of the T-Birds. At the heart of the character, I’ve found that he is very innocent and caring but also tries to fit in with the rest of the guys.

2. I read in your bio that you got your start in Theatre in Singapore, what’s the theatre scene like there?

Yes! Although Singapore is a small country, the theatre scene is constantly growing and I was super lucky to be given many opportunities to grow as an artist. One of the bigger theatres in Singapore is the Sands Theatre which puts on various Broadway shows which allowed me to see these spectacular shows since I was young. A unique part about Singapore’s theatre scene is its multi-cultured nature which exposed me to unique performance styles like Wayang Puppet Theatre as well as event-based performances like the Lion Dance and Dragon Dance. I think growing up in Singapore allowed me to have a great appreciation for the diverse cultures of the world and inspired me to create pieces that promote the spread of these cultures and create more representation in theatre.

3. What’s your favourite part about playing Doody?

I think my favorite part of playing Doody has been the journey of developing the character and bringing the words to life. With musicals, there’s often a misconception that the characters are 2-dimensional because they just break out into song and dance but when you take a closer look, these characters do have a lot to them. I think an interesting part of Doody is how relatable the character is. As I mentioned, Doody is the youngest of the group and to me, he’s just really trying to fit in. Although the character is a bit silly and goofy, there’s also depth and a longing to be accepted by the group which drives him throughout the musical.

I think another part that I have loved about playing Doody is the challenges that the character has brought. As I joined the production as an actor in January, I was scrambling to learn lines and choreography for the show but I think this hectic nature helped me find so many things about Doody because, like him and like so many teenagers coming into high school, I felt the pressure of wanting to fit in with the group. Of course the cast made this easy being so kind and welcoming to me which I am forever grateful for. I remember how nervous and worried I was for the first rehearsal when I came in as an actor but as soon as I stepped in the room, the whole cast welcomed me with claps and cheers. That just warmed my heart

With this in mind, I really do owe it to all my scene partners like James Goldman (Roger), Spencer Pearson (Sonny), Ben Rosenberg (Kenickie), and Joseph Chiu (Danny) who made it so much easier to want to fit in with the group driving my character work to the next level and Doody’s partner Jessica Wang (Frenchy) who has helped me bring out the innocent and vulnerable nature of Doody. Without these talented artists, I would not have been able to drive my character as much as I have.

4. What’s it like being on both sides of the stage for this production?

Crazy! I am forever grateful for this opportunity as I have been able to see this production grow from both sides of the curtain and it has just allowed me to grow so much on both an actor and a crew level. There were definitely some challenging days juggling my roles running from rehearsals to the set construction space and then back to planning the lights, but it has taught me so much about time management. I really did love working on both sides because it gave me a perspective on every aspect of the show but it also showed me how far kindness and compassion can go. I don’t think I would have made it without the constant encouragement from both the cast and crew and it’s crazy how far a little statement like “you’re doing awesome” goes!

I am also grateful for the relationships I’ve built in this production because of this. When I was just on the tech side of things, I had a strong relationship with my awesome team but was always on the outside of the cast but now that I’m part of the cast, I’ve learned so much about each and every member of the show on both sides of the stage and these connections will forever be my favorite part of being part of this production. My favorite thing that I’ve been able to do these past 2 weeks during tech week is walking around the theatre and just having a chat with everyone involved! Because of tech week, everyone is in the theatre and it’s just given me a chance to learn some of the coolest things about everyone. I cannot stress how grateful I am to be surrounded by the most kind, hard-working, and talented group of people.

5. What’s your favourite song from Grease?

This is definitely a hard choice because I do love performing Those Magic Changes so much, however, I think I really do enjoy Shakin’ at the High School Hop because the energy of the song is just infectious. A close second would probably be Greased Lightnin’ which is interesting as when I first learned the choreography for this song, it was the bane of my existence, but now I can’t stop moving to the song! I also love that Ben (Kenickie) does a guitar solo in this song because it just adds so much to the scene. Choreography is always something that I am nervous about so being able to learn Greased Lightnin’ is definitely an achievement that I am really happy about!

I want to thank Luis and Shunsho for taking the time to answer my questions. Make sure to check out Grease at Hart House this week! For more information and tickets, visit: https://harthouse.ca/theatre/show/grease

---

Thank you to my Patrons:

B. Kinnon, D. Moyes, D. Nelson

And to my supporters who’ve bought me a coffee:

Angelica and Paul, Anonymous

Would you like to become a Patron? Check out my Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox

Or, you can buy me a coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/aviewfromthebox