{"id":20074,"date":"2024-04-01T11:22:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-01T16:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/?p=20074"},"modified":"2024-04-01T17:14:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T22:14:44","slug":"syara-villarreal-to-close-final-semester-in-performance-studies-with-ordinary-days-musical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/01\/syara-villarreal-to-close-final-semester-in-performance-studies-with-ordinary-days-musical\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Spotlight: Syara Villarreal To Close Final Semester in Performance Studies With \u2018Ordinary Days\u2019 Musical"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Syara Villarreal is in her final semester as a senior Performance Studies major, and is directing her first musical \u2014 \u201cOrdinary Days\u201d by Adam Gwon \u2014 for her senior capstone project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The musical will be performed April 25-27 at 7 p.m. in the Black Box Theater in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities Building. The story follows four people who live in New York City and have \u201cseparate troubles and tribulations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2019Ordinary Days\u2019 has always just really resonated with me because it encapsulates the young adult experience of living in a big city and feeling like you have no idea what you are doing,\u201d the Houston native said. \u201cIt is a fully sung-through show, so there is no speaking, just singing. \u2018Ordinary Days\u2019 is accompanied solely by piano, creating a unique and more personal musical experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The production has been in the works for more than a year, after Villarreal secured a four-person cast, a music director\/pianist, costumes, lighting and the rights to perform the work. The contracts and details that go into a production have been challenging, she said, but worthwhile. The reward will be seeing the production come to life just before she graduates in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Syara Villarreal will pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre with a specialization in directing at the University of South Dakota. Photo by Laura McKenzie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been very educational,\u201d she said. \u201cI knew I wanted to direct this show at the beginning of my junior year. So I had to gather grants to pay for the rights to the show, and I have just been able to see what goes on beyond the directing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Villarreal\u2019s initial love of the art form started with a high school production of \u201cBeauty and the Beast.\u201d She took a theatre class her freshman year just to earn the fine arts credit. But she enjoyed it, and she was encouraged by her teacher to audition for the production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am definitely an actress first, so I was very nervous to audition for a musical,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I got into the ensemble, which was my first show at 14. I loved it and have done shows ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Villarreal has an abundance of theatre interests, including stage combat. She has managed to incorporate her lifelong favorite movie series \u2014 and its weapon of choice \u2014 into her college career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved \u2018Star Wars,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s always been my favorite thing. And I like spinning lightsabers. There\u2019s a whole art to it, and a group of people on TikTok who spin them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A stage combat course in her sophomore year allowed her to learn lightsaber choreography and movement. She then took a directed study course with Angenette Spalink, assistant professor, which included research in theatre and violence, falling properly, intimacy coordination and learning how to use a broad sword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choreography was new to Villarreal, but Spalink assured her that every person is a dancer on some level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all move our bodies, so we all do choreography every day whether we realize it or not,\u201d Villarreal said. \u201cSo, with something like stage combat, it may not seem like traditional \u2018choreography\u2019 at the surface, but it is! It\u2019s all about where your body is, the placement, and how we use our bodies to tell a story.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spalink called Villarreal a \u201cdedicated student and artist\u201d who has accomplished much during her time in the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was so exciting to watch Syara develop her broad sword skills and kinesthetic awareness in relation to staging combat,\u201d Spalink said. \u201cSyara is creating interesting and rigorous performance work, and I am excited to see where her commitment and talents take her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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