When I started doing fully staged musicals with Zneefrock Productions, my goal was to do things that nobody had ever seen before. Indeed, nobody had seen our Star Wars musical, as Adrian and I had written it all on our own. The production of Seussical that we did last summer was new and innovative and would flip the script.
When I found out about Be More Chill, it was the summer of 2015. Someone who had a mutual friend with me suggested that I listen to it. I listened to the music and instantly fell in love. I like to think that that music defined that summer for me, simply because it was like nothing I'd ever heard. I brought it back to my friends and spread the epidemic obsession.
I became determined to do it with Zneefrock Productions. The rest of our board of directors, as well as many of my friends, told me it was a stupid idea considering its adult themes. I knew, however, that we, as teenagers, would be able to breathe new life into Be More Chill, casting the characters as the ages that they're written to be. It would give the script new meaning, another dimension of reality.
When the rights came out, I jumped. It was perfect. It fit perfectly into the theme of a show that nobody's ever heard of. At least, at the time it did.
Over the past several months, we've watched Be More Chill rise from a small regional show that a handful of people have ever heard of to an internet sensation. Its messages and quirkiness spoke to a generation. It grew and grew (and is still growing) until the announcement of the Off-Broadway production, which is also opening tonight.
When we started casting, I knew that it had a fanbase, but I didn't realize just how passionate the fans were. I posted a casting call in the fan Facebook group, only to find people sending auditions from all over America, even one from London. People - teenagers - eager to add their voice to this work. A good number of our cast members are people that I had not met before that first day of auditions.
Not only was our cast able to grow, but our fanbase did, too, in that we now have one. First, it was an enormous growth in followers, then people talking about it, then fan art, then cosplays, until we'd cultivated a modest, loyal fanbase of some incredibly talented and passionate people. I am happy to say that if you look around you now, you'll see young people who have traveled from all around to see this show.
I started this company when I was just twelve years old, unsure whether it would work, and unsure whether I would continue in the coming years to produce and direct. Little did I realize that there would be people that I had never met in real life who would be eagerly anticipating something that my company did. I pinch myself every single day thinking about that.
I have to thank those fans, but most importantly, I have to thank this incredible cast. With the new attention, there was a lot of pressure placed on us, but our cast rose to the occasion every single time. There is no weak link. I never once imagined that this show would be "kind of okay." These people, some of whom, again, I'd never met before this, became my family, and they never ceased to challenged themselves. I am so proud of them and so proud to be one of them.
Now sit back, relax, and take the upgrade.
- Andrew
