The Roar sat down with Alyson McKie, freshman, Erika Wilson, and Mary Heyl, sophomores, and Abby Smith, junior, to talk about their most recent play, “Steel Magnolias” . In the play, six ladies form a close friendship at a beauty parlor in Chinquapin Parish, Louisiana. One of the women, Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie played by Smith, struggles with a serious case of diabetes and passes away towards the end. The play closely follows the solid relationships between the women as the death of Shelby brings them even closer together.

The Roar: What do you like most about the play?

Alyson McKie: My favorite part was that it was such a small cast, so everyone was on stage almost the whole time. We all got very close because there were only six people. This play also has a lot of great quotes and all of us will probably be quoting it for a very long time.

Erika Wilson: I love that this play has so many different elements to it. There are times when it is happy, funny, and sad. I think that the whole cast is really good in each of their roles, and we really bring it to life!

Abby Smith: I loved the cast. We all had a great time together and meshed together perfectly.

Mary Heyl: We have all gotten to know each other really well and it feels like a family on stage.

The Roar: How do you think the first performance went?

Alyson McKie: I think the first performance went great! We all had energy and kept the show moving at a good speed.

Abby Smith: I think the first performance went really well. We had some mess-ups but we all supported each other on stage and off so that we all could feel confident and stay in character.

Mary Heyl: It went well as far as first performances go with only a few glitches.

The Roar: What do you want to improve on?

Alyson McKie: I definitely think we should work on topping lines and having more and more energy. You can never have enough energy in plays.

Erika Wilson: I want to improve my volume because I have always been told I have a soft voice, so just making sure that I’m really projecting my voice is what I need to improve.

Abby Smith: I think as long as we keep pushing outside our comfort zone we will continue to get better.

Mary Heyl: Speaking louder and staying in the moment.

The Roar: Could you tell us something funny or weird that went on backstage?

Alyson McKie: While we were trying to memorize our lines, Mrs. Scott would have us do them in accents and other weird things to help remember them. One time, she asked us to do it while cheerleading and everyone went crazy doing it. We were jumping up and down and acting like stereotypical cheerleaders.

Erika Wilson: So it was about a few days until opening performance and we were rehearsing. There was a line that I had that Mrs. Scott told me I was saying wrong, and it took me forever to get the line right and I don’t think I actually got it until the show. It was a joke throughout the whole cast about how I could not say that line. We just all have a lot of different brain farts we could talk about!

Abby Smith: Right before act two of our second performance, we were all dancing ridiculously in the dressing room and suddenly heard our cue to get on stage so we all had to run to our spots.

Mary Heyl: Well, before we go on a few of us have to wait, so we all huddle together under some blankets and chill out before we go on.

While serious issues were dealt with during the play, it is not short of lighthearted banter, southern charm, and witty humor, causing the audience to laugh and cry. It is based on the true story of Susan Harling Robinson, the sister of the play’s writer, Robert Harling.