Written by Isla Dawahare

Performing Apprentice and Artist Development Program Student

There’s nothing quite like the first day of rehearsal. It’s extra special when it’s the first day of rehearsal at The Lexington Theatre Company. On June 17, over 50 people, myself included, gathered in The Alex Theatre, the main studio at 2323 Alexandria Drive. To some people in the room, that studio felt like a second home already; to others, it was brand new. But over the next few weeks, that studio became the birthplace of a soaring production of Les Mis, and our cast and crew became a family.

My name is Isla Dawahare, and I’m a high school freshman. I’ve been a part of the LexFam since 2020, when they began their Artist Development Program (ADP) online. I’ve continued to take ADP classes (now in person!), and also had the gift of learning through 7 Mainstage shows as a youth and teen performing apprentice. My first show with The Lex was The Sound of Music in 2023, where I had the privilege of playing Brigitta, and my most recent was Les Misérables this summer. Every show I get to do feels like such an honor to be part of, and Les Mis was no exception to this.

One of my favorite things about The Lex is how they seamlessly blend artists of every age and experience level, from Broadway professionals who have been in this business for years, to rising stars that are college students or recent graduates, to elementary, middle, and high school students with varying levels of theatre experience. But each generation of artists has something to learn from each other. The kids look up to the rising stars and professionals and see their own dreams and future, where they hope to be in five or ten or twenty years. The adults are reminded of their past – remembering that despite the challenges they were once kids with big dreams, too.

We started Les Mis rehearsals in late June, and we put the show together in exactly three weeks. It wasn’t an easy task—Les Mis is a long show—but with an incredibly focused cast, team and two incredible directors, we managed to get it done. Lyndy Franklin Smith, with whom I’ve had the honor of working in several Mainstage shows, directed with kindness, focused energy, and a clear vision. Jeremy Landon Hays (who not only co-directed our show but also starred as Jean Valjean) brought creativity and a strong sense of storytelling, as well as a deep respect for Les Mis itself that truly changed how we all saw the story and every aspect of the show. Working with Jeremy was extra special for me-as I mentioned, in 2023 I played Brigitta in The Lex’s production of The Sound of Music, where Jeremy played Captain von Trapp. Getting to work with my “show dad” again was a full circle moment and it meant so much to me. Walking into rehearsal and seeing him each day brought back the nostalgic memories of that life-changing production.

Our process of creating the show began with two and a half weeks of 9:30-6pm studio rehearsals at The Lex’s, six days a week. In that time, we learned all the music and “blocked” the show (learning choreography, where to enter or exit, finding our marks, etc.) We concluded that time with one of my very favorite parts of the process-designer run. Designer run is when we perform the show in the rehearsal studio for the tech teams-the incredible people behind the scenes who create and manage costumes, lighting sound, props, sets, and more. Getting to finally have everyone in the room always feels so special. Then it was time to move to our performance space, the beautiful Lexington Opera House!

Our first time in the Opera House was a spacing rehearsal on the stage; applying all the blocking we learned in the studio to the actual stage and set we’d be using. Then we hit the ground running on Monday morning, 11am to 11pm, and began working through the show with lights, sound, costumes, wigs, and more. Monday night was wandelprobe. It’s one of my favorite parts of building a show, where we get to have our incredibly talented orchestra for a few hours and run the show (with no technical elements like costumes or lighting) for the first time in the performance space with all the beautiful music. Tuesday was another full 11am-11pm day, and after lots of hard work and focus, and lots of stopping and starting to fine tune details like sound quality and timing, we got through the whole show. Wednesday was our invited dress rehearsal, where—after an afternoon rehearsal—we do the entire show for the first time with an audience of friends and family! It went so well and getting to look out and see so many people laughing, crying, and enjoying the show felt so meaningful. Then before we knew it, it was time for our official opening night!

Opening night came and went in a flurry of nerves, excitement, and the most fun opening party. One of my very favorite moments was when the curtain closed after bows that night. Everyone was immediately cheering, clapping, and embracing each other-it was just this little moment of joy that the whole cast and crew got to share with just each other, and I feel so lucky to have been a part of that moment and lasting memory.

Some of my other favorite memories (and I have many) came in the quieter moments, from playing pickleball with fellow Apprentices on a day off during rehearsals, to the famous Lunch Box sessions, (open table conversations held during certain lunch breaks in the studio, open to all ages, where important parts of managing a performance career are discussed, from college to financial planning) and more. Every performance, one of our wonderful cast members, Chelsea Russell, (who is also a Teaching Artist and Outreach Assistant in the ADP program) would pull out her bag of gummy bears and hand them out to each of the girls in the dressing room, and it became such a fun tradition. Another favorite was taking photos in the hallway leading up to the stage and having people pile in all around me and being surrounded by this beautiful community. Community, in my opinion, may be the best word to describe the environment at The Lex. Every time I get the gift of performing with The Lex, the cast changes, the show changes, the audience changes, but the community never does. No matter what happened on the stage, whether it was my best performance or my worst, there was always someone waiting in the wings or in the dressing room to support me, laugh with me, and cheer me on. Even though we only got three weeks together, the cast truly became a family, and I had “a heart full of love” for each and every individual.

Backstage in tech rehearsals for Les Misérables

One of the most magical moments for me is walking into the dressing room for the first time during tech week and seeing the lights, the untouched and perfectly organized dressing stations, the costumes neatly hung up, and everyone’s names on their stations. I always feel a jolt of anticipation and excitement the first time I walk downstairs at The Opera House. Walking out for the last time on closing night is always hard, but still so special. The anticipation of telling an important story together has been replaced with hundreds of photos and too many memories to count, but the excitement is still there, because even though the show is over, the relationships aren’t. And after the stage door closed after that final show, there was still a closing party to say goodbye, take some final photos, and celebrate what we created.

I couldn’t be more grateful for this experience. Getting to be part of such a classic, theatre canon show was such a gift, and more importantly, getting to be part of such a kind and talented cast was an incredible privilege. Every day I got to learn and be inspired by so many artists who are both amazing performers and humans. I’m so thankful for The Lex’s Apprentice Program for making experiences like this possible for me and so many other kids and teens who get this invaluable learning experience and get to make so many memories, friendships and connections.

A Look Back at Les Misérables at The Lex

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