The cast gathers at the front of the stage after finishing their runthrough while the band recieves notes from Mr. Foley. “[The directors] aren’t afraid to get after us if we aren’t giving it our all,” Fritz Sullivan, who plays Patrick Star, said. “Sometimes notes go for as long as an hour after the show.” Photo by Paige Bean

Senior Zachary Torkelson prepares backstage rigs for the first dress rehearsal. Torkelson is a part of set run crew and this is his eighth East production. Photo by Paige Bean

Senior Wyatt Oligmueller performs as Mr. Krabs. “[My favorite part of the musical was] spending time with the people in the musical,” Oligmueller said. “The bonding is an entirely different experience than what you get from other parts of the school.” Photo by Paige Bean

Senior Fritz Sullivan as Patrick Star and senior Kate Whitefield as SpongeBob SquarePants spin together during the “BFF” song. “[When I found out that I recieved the role,] I didn’t really have a good grasp of what the show was,” Whitefield said. “I hadn’t read the script or seen it or anythinhg so all I knew was that I was going to be playing Spongebob.” Photo by Audrey Condon

Costumes hang from a rack ready for changes by the characters of Spongebob, “Last year was… just assigning dresses based on measurements,” senior Audrey Morehead, a member of costume run crew, said. “We didn’t really have to make much except maybe a pocket square here or there. This year, it was definitely a lot of hot glue. Most costumes had bases and then to make them bikini-bottom-ish, we had to find some funky ribbons and ornaments that we could glue, sew, or somehow attach to these costumes to make them a little more like sea creatures.” Photo by Paige Bean