Pit Perfect: student orchestra brings “Pippin” performance to life

Many high school musical theater productions are scored by a pre-recorded band on a CD. But at Samo, a small group of instrumental musicians is soundtracking the action on stage at Samo theater’s production of “Pippin”.The pit orchestra is home to 41 musicians and their conductor, Assistant Band Director Terry Sakow. While the orchestra usually plays below the stage, in the “pit,” this year’s orchestra will play on risers in order to contribute to the “show within a show” theme of “Pippin”. The pit plays every musical number in the play and the underscores in various scenes, according to pit President Jack Aron (’15).“[The] pit is open to virtually any musician willing to put up with rehearsals,” Aron said. “But we won’t let you in if you don’t know anything about music.”According to Aron, the musicians rehearse for around 50 hours in total to prepare for the musical. As the performances get closer, they start to rehearse for up to eight hours a day. But for musicians, the pit is not a chore but a fun, hidden community.“When I did the pit for ‘South Pacific’ two years ago, we always joked around quietly during shows and rehearsals,” tubist Sam Clark (’14) said. “We would change the lyrics around and make fun of the dialogue. It feels like the whole pit is in on these inside jokes.”Hayden Kirschbaum (’16), the pit’s co-vice president, said that pit members make faces at each other during rehearsals because nobody in the audience can see them. Each section of the orchestra even has inside jokes of its own.“We dance a lot,” Emma Geisler (’17), a percussionist, said. “When we have to count rests, we usually make a weird dance to count them. [Since] we’re standing up, we can actually move around and get into the music.”Despite the community fun, Kirschbaum said the pit also allows students to get more involved in the arts.“I like musicals, so it was a way for me to get involved in theater while not being an actor,” Kirschbaum said. “It’s just another way to spend my time on an extracurricular.”Kirschbaum said that playing live music not only helps musicians learn new styles but is also beneficial to the actors.“[You play] a different type of music [in the pit],” Kirschbaum said. “You have to learn how to adapt styles and change at a moment’s notice. If one of the actors skips five measures, you have to catch up. If they start speeding up, you have to speed up with them.”For Aron, playing in the pit orchestra is an experience any instrumentalist should go through.“This is my favorite thing [to do] at Samo,” Aron said. “I encourage anyone who I think is reasonable enough to play and has determination in music to join pit.”