Since 1957, ETHS students have been directing and writing YAMO, the musical sketch comedy show. All summer, YAMO directors and writers have been hard at work preparing for their first rehearsal during the first week of the school year. YAMO consists of 4 main companies: Dance, Unexpected, Impulse, and Acting. Unexpected is YAMO’s musical company, and Impulse is similar to acting but with shorter-form scenes. There’s also the YAMOrchestra and the stage crew. The upcoming show will have two acts, with each company contributing multiple scenes.
Preparation for YAMO begins at the end of the previous school year, with auditions taking place in mid-May. After auditions, the writers and directors of the next year’s performance start to put the show together throughout the summer in preparation for the school year. Rehearsals begin the first Friday of the school year, and once rehearsals start, they have six weeks before their first performance on the fourth Friday of September.
“YAMO board is like a full-time job in the summer, in the sense that it’s all you can think about”, describes Impulse director Sam Consiglio.
The writers and directors spend a significant portion of their summer writing and revising sketches, refining ideas, and finalizing all the details for the show. They also have to work with the orchestra director and the composers to create the musical aspects of the show.
Apart from writing sketches for the show, there’s also a lot to be done in terms of choreographing. There will be approximately six dances, each choreographed by senior Mira Walsh. Since Walsh is the only choreographer, she’s taking on the responsibility of creating all the dances herself.
“[My job] is very different from the other board members because I don’t have to write anything. For me, I’ve just been choreographing in my free time, and I get to do everything at my own pace,” describes Walsh.
Writers, directors, and choreographers are so important for YAMO, but it truly wouldn’t be a show without the technical directors, Isaiah Turk and Caleb Jobson. They spend most of the summer recruiting members for the stage crew, designing sets, and drafting blueprints.
Despite how intense YAMO prep can be, it’s also gratifying for the board.
“It’s a super laborious summer process that can feel very overwhelming at times, but it has an incredibly rewarding payoff,” Consiglio comments.
See what the YAMO board has been working on the last weekend of September, and the second and third weekends of October at 7 pm in the upstairs theater!
