The Rex Putnam theater department has once again put on a phenomenal production, this time they performed the play Something Rotten. It is a hilarious musical which transports the audience to the Renaissance era, specifically the year 1595. It revolves around the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, who are struggling with playwrights and in desperate need of a hit. They are in competition with the infamous Shakespeare, who is played by Jordyn Edwards. The brothers are played by Aram Foz and Andrew Marin. I had the pleasure of speaking with Mia Pedroso, who played Portia.

Pedroso has been in all of the plays since her sophomore year, and she is now a junior. She is not only part of the theater department, but also the choir department, so there is no doubt about her incredible talent. “(Theater) is genuinely a safe space where I feel safe being myself and it’s truly where I belong. I’ve made lifelong friendships in this department and it’s truly unforgettable. It taught me skills I can actually carry with me my whole life.” Pedroso mentioned when talking about why she likes being in the theater department.

Something Rotten is without a doubt one of the favorite plays she has ever been a part of because it is really fun and lighthearted. She especially enjoyed hearing the audience laugh and having as good of a time watching as she did perform and getting ready to perform. The process of perfecting the play takes a couple of months between learning lines, choreography, creating the set, and so much more that goes on behind the scenes, which the audience does not see. Usually there are student choreographers, but for Something Rotten they had the theater department director Exel Stroschein teach the cast the choreography and tap. Pedroso really enjoyed learning how to tap dance and thinks it may be a hidden talent of hers that she had the privilege and opportunity to discover. While it takes about 2 and 1 ⁄ 2 months to fully prepare for the play, the week before is known in the theater department as “hell week” because cast members do not get out of school until 9pm. “It’s the week where we have everything! The costumes, props, hair, makeup, lights, and sound. We put it all together as we do full runs,” says Pedroso describing “hell week”.

Another reason why Pedroso especially enjoyed this production is because she got to play the love interest of Nigel Bottom, played by her real-life boyfriend Andrew Marin. They both were incredibly happy to be cast as love interests because it created a special bond between them and let them have one great long-lasting memory with each other before Marin graduates in June. He is a senior, and Pedroso is a Junior, but she already knows exactly what her plans are after high school. She aims to attend the University of Southern Oregon and study musical theater.

In general, the musical was an admiral experience and more proof of how much talent exists in the Rex Putnam theater department. There is no doubt about the fact that all of them are going to go far and be incredibly successful.