The curtain is drawn as the claps from the standing ovation fills the auditorium. This was it. The Final show. The show where the seniors would sing and recite their last lines, and take their final bows. Their musical careers would not end here but their time at the North Atlanta Theater Department would come to a bittersweet end.  

Due to the nature of long after school practices and rehearsals, a large sense of community is created among the cast and crew. Their time together fosters friendships unlike any other as they learn their lines, dances, build the set, and set up the lighting. Most of the seniors have been there since freshman year and seen many other seniors come and go with hugs and tears. This year it is their turn to be the ones everyone is saying goodbye to as they follow through with their post-high school plans. Senior Juliet Joyce, cast as the lead role of ‘Elle Woods’ in this year’s musical, has been a part of musical theater since third grade and never thought that her final show would come so soon.“It’s been weird having to realize that it’s all coming to an end,” said Joyce. 

Although seniors are leaving to pursue their dreams, whether they stay within theater or enter a different subject of interest, the impact they’ve made on their underclassmen is something that will stick with them forever. These seniors have previously come back every year older and wiser, ready to leave their mark. They teach what the past seniors have taught them, passing down the torch of knowledge from years before them. The impact that they’ve had on the cast and crew will go on far longer than the time they’ve spent within the theater. Even though it is sad to see them go, the underclassmen will always have their memories to look back at as they continue to apply the knowledge given to them and, in the future, pass on the torch of knowledge to another. Assistant Stage Manager Keelin LaHiff has been a part of theater since the beginning of freshman year and has been taught the ways of the props from the props master herself, Senior Emma Gleason. “She’s taught me everything I know about props,” said LaHiff. “And it’s the way I’ll do everything from now on.”

Although each year leaves the remaining cast and crew with a bittersweet ending, they will always be able to look back at their memories with the seniors fondly and smile.