They’ve been thinking. They’ve been thinking! And they’ve got to get with you— these kids of 13: The Musical— they’ve got to get with you so they can share their awesome experience of being in the middle of a middle school musical and talk all about what it’s been like! Rounding the bend past the midway point in the TheatreBloom exclusive series “A Little More Homework” we sit down with Maren Wright-Kerr to discuss her involvement with 13: The Musical at Third Wall Productions.
Thanks for sitting with us! If you’d like to introduce yourself, we can get started!
Maren Wright-Kerr: My name is Maren, I go to Carver Center for Arts and Technology for acting and theatre, and my character’s name is Eddie. Ma’issa is my older sister and she goes to Towson. I’m 14 and I’m in 9th grade.
You must be a performer if go to Carver for theatre. What other shows have you done?
Maren: I was in their most recent show, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, I played St. Monica. That was my favorite part ever. This is my first musical but I’ve been in musical showcases at camps.
Tell us a little bit about Eddie.
Maren: Well…I’ve decided that just like me? He’s the type of person that will randomly dance perfectly choreographed dance moves in hallways. He’s also into lip-singing. I think the comedy of Eddie comes from what Malcolm and Eddie do together. We’ve decided that we are the hype men. We’re called “The Goons”, which I love, but that basically describes us.
How are you and Eddie alike and how are you different?
Maren: Well…the main thing…the main difference is that I’m a girl, obviously. So there’s that. I think I’m supposed to wear a snapback in the show because that seems so very Eddie.
What is a snapback?
Maren: It’s this hat that I’m wearing. It’s a backwards hat that’s flat. Like this one I’m wearing now. We both wear snapbacks. Now I want to say that Eddie is more immature than me but I feel like that might not be true. So maybe I won’t say that. Eddie is a goon. I think that I am not a goon…now I usually have the goons…coming after me.
When you’re not in school or doing theatre what do you like to do in your free time?
Maren: I draw a lot. I’m interested in double priming for visual arts at Carver. I mostly draw sort of realistic faces in different colors. I like to read.
Do you have a favorite book?
Maren: That’s a hard one. I do, but I don’t know the title, but I can totally describe it. It’s like that futuristic people freezing thing…cryogenics! It’s like that and they preserve all of the important science people and put them on a spaceship. The daughter of one of those important scientists was supposed to be there too but somebody tried to murder her so she broke out and was freed from her cryo-sleep. It’s a really cool sci-fi romance thing, but I can’t remember the title. My sister showed it to me. Oh! I also like The Host by Stephanie Myers. I also really like to watch anime.
The play talks about bullying. How do you feel about bullying?
Maren: I have never been bullied, nor have I ever been bullied. I feel like I am more of a bystander, but I never see it actually. So I don’t think I have much I can say about it. I’d like to think I’d try and stop it if I saw someone being bullied, but I never see it.
They play also talks about labels. How do you feel about labels?
Maren: Well going to Carver, I think all of us fit under this one big Artistic-School-Weirdo label that other schools make fun of.
What is your favorite subject in school?
Maren: Can I say theatre? Yes? Then theatre. The environment is really free. We have a lot of our own choices to make in that class. We get to do what we want and it’s amazing. We’re all friends and it’s great.
What is your favorite song?
Maren: “Hey, Kendra!” Wait— no. “Bad, Bad News.” Those are my songs that I sing but they’re awesome. “Hey, Kendra” is me and Malcolm and Bret trying to get Kendra to go out on a date with Bret. It’s done Barry White style and the choreography is really very fun. “Bad, Bad News” is the one where Bret is taken over by Kendra’s evil best friend Lucy and then he won’t spend time with us anymore. So that song is all about us trying to tell him that Lucy is bad news.
Do you have friends like Malcolm and Bret?
Maren: I do, actually. Exactly like them.
What has been the most challenging thing about being a part of this show?
Maren: Hmm. Mostly time management. When I get home— I live 40 minutes away from here— so it’s late because we stop and get food. And I think “should I really do my homework? Do I really need a good grade in this class?” I go to sleep and finish it in the morning at school.
What is your favorite part of the show?
Maren: The breaks in-between the songs when we’re backstage singing Hamilton.
What has being a part of this show taught you about yourself?
Maren: I think it’s sort of teaching me to be more versatile. This is the first time I’ve played a guy. This is the first time I’ve been in a musical. It’s helping me extend my experience, which is what I came here to do, so that’s great!
What do you hope people will learn from seeing this musical?
Maren: I think “A Little More Homework” is the best reference for that. No matter how much homework you do or how much you learn, you still have a little bit more to learn and do in life. I don’t like the term “a little more homework” obviously because I am a teenager, but the bigger takeaway is that we all have more learning to do and we’ll always have more learning to do.
Why do you want people to come and see you in this show?
Maren: Because I am a star. Boom.
13: The Musical opens on May 13, 2016 and plays through May 22, 2016 with Third Wall Productions at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah— 5801 Hartford Road in Baltimore’s Hamilton neighborhood. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 443-838-4064 or purchasing them online.
To read Part 1 of “A Little More Homework” featuring Taylor Casalena, click here.
To read Part 2 of “A Little More Homework” featuring Jake Clark, click here.
To read Part 3 of “A Little More Homework” featuring Andi Rudai, click here.
To read Part 4 of “A Little More Homework” featuring Morgan Hewitt, click here.
To read Part 5 of “A Little More Homework” featuring Margaret Hamilton, click here.
To read Part 6 of “A Little More Homework” featuring Christopher Owens, click here.
To read Part 7 of “A Little More Homework” featuring Carly Victor, click here.
To read Part 8 of “A Little More Homework” featuring Ma’issa Wright-Kerr, click here.
To read Part 9 of “A Little More Homework” featuring Aidan Slowey, click here.
