Michael Semanic hopes to be a film composer one day and he’s not wasting any time getting started. The Naperville North High School junior is the mastermind behind the original music that fills school’s production of “Frankenstein: The Radio Play” as well as the conductor of the 17-member orchestra.
“This feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity,” 16-year-old Semanic said. “I have dabbled in music up until now and written melodies and arrangements on my own, but this is the first time that my original compositions are being performed in such a theatrical manner.”
And theatrical it is.
About 35 Naperville North students are bringing “Frankenstein: The Radio Play” to the stage at 7 p.m. Saturday at the school’s Performing Arts Center, 899 N. Mill St. It will include 17 pieces by Semanic.
It’s the second consecutive year the school has presented a Halloween-themed show to coincide with the holiday.
“There is a lot of Halloween material in radio drama,” said Josh Jansen, the school’s technical director who is helming the production. “‘Frankenstein’ is a really neat script that is adapted from the original novel (by Mary Shelley).”
Jansen chose the classic horror story last year and announced on social media that he was looking for music for the show. When Semanic learned about it, he got to work.
“I went home and read the script cover to cover, thinking about what music could go in between each scene,” Semanic said. “I did about half the writing over the summer and finalized everything in October.”
In addition to creating the original score, Semanic held auditions for the orchestra members.
“My ultimate goal is to become a film composer,” Semanic said. “Something like this – writing music for a radio play – is very similar in many ways. It feels like a huge first step towards reaching that goal.”
Jansen said it’s been fun for the students to tackle a radio drama because it’s something audiences don’t see very often. Throughout the show, people will get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes workings of a 1940s-style radio theater broadcast.
“We talked a lot with the kids who are involved in the project about how radio was the medium of the day,” Jansen said. “Radio theater and radio drama focuses on the technical art of how we are creating things. It’s kind of neat because it shows you the backstage of all the other shows that we do.”
And while the students weren’t familiar with radio theater, they handled it like seasoned professionals, he said.
“This cast and crew impresses me with their creativity and openness to explore,” Jansen said. “We have students who have written commercials for our sponsors, are trying new dialects and vocal qualities, and a crew who is adding life to the movement and locations of the story.”
Proceeds from the show benefit North’s technical crew and will help to support social events, training conferences and two scholarships for graduating seniors who intend to pursue fields on the technical side of performing arts.
As for Semanic, this is only the beginning, Jansen said.
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“I was nervous about it at the beginning of the project but as we went further along, it has been incredible to watch,” he said. “Someday it will be exciting when I go to a movie and listen to his scores. I am extremely proud of him.”
Jane Donahue is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
What: “Frankenstein: The Radio Play”
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28
Where: Naperville North High School, 899 N. Mill St., Naperville
Tickets: $5 for students/seniors, $10 adults
Information: www.nnhsarts.com