“On Wednesdays, we wear pink.”
This iconic line is a pop culture reference from the popular 2004 movie, Mean Girls. The beloved story was later adapted into a musical, a version which was performed last week, March 4-7. by the Issaquah High School Thespian Society . The incredible students on cast and crew spent countless hours outside of school to bring to the community a masterful production of Mean Girls.
To prepare for the show, actors and crew began months earlier, in December 2025. From that first audition to opening night, they worked tirelessly to bring a professional-grade production to IHS. Carter Shiflett, the freshman actor for Dameon in the show, explains the process: “We usually have a read-through where we just sit down and read through the entire show, all the lines, all the songs, things like that. Then from there we have a rehearsal process where we sing, we have singing days, we have dancing days, and we have acting days. It all culminates in tech week, where we’re here for a super long time, and the focus is more on tech.” Along with acting, singing, and dancing, the cast is also required to complete rigorous physical conditioning to prepare for the difficult choreography and long musical numbers. All this work certainly pays off, as the cast is able to perform impressive physical feats all while singing and remaining in character throughout the show. “The hardest part of the show for me is the song Where Do You Belong,” remarked Shiflett, “It’s such a high-energy number, and I’m basically on stage the entire time. So, I’m dancing and singing like I’m so happy, when actually I’m wheezing and gasping for air.”
As the actors shone on stage, an equal amount of effort was put in behind the scenes, in many different departments. “The amount of running that people do backstage is really impressive,” said freshman Alyssa Anthony, one of the show’s costume designers, “I’ve done a lot of running because I do quick changes for Cady, who is the main character of the show.” The tech crew of the show is always working hard to ensure that the show goes smoothly. Sophomore Nina Dunne, the Assistant Stage Manager, explained her job: “I’m on this thing called comms [headset], which allows the stage manager who’s in the booth to talk to me and the other assistant stage manager backstage and me. So, when they cue us, I’ll tell the run crew to be ready to move things around, like sets and props and things like that.” Many audience members never know the depth of the team behind the stage, but they are essential to the show’s success every night through its run.
All this work and dedication made it so the cast and crew of the IHS theater troupe could shine on opening night. Mean Girls featured many exhilarating musical numbers that were accompanied by live music from students in the band playing under the stage, including the intense Apex Predator and the upbeat Rather Be Me, as well as slower songs such as the foreboding Watch the World Burn and the heartfelt More. The talent of those backstage showed with the incredible set, created through a raised platform and rotating pillars that seamlessly changed between different scenes. Projection was also used skillfully to create immersive social media scenes and allowed the audience to take a look into the burn book itself. The costumes showed impressive backstage work as well, as many of the main cast changed their carefully constructed outfits multiple times throughout the show, sometimes with only seconds offstage.
All this worked to bring together the classic high school story of Mean Girls. The story follows the main plot of the 2004 movie Mean Girls, as it follows Cady Heron through her junior year, which also happens to be her first year of real school. She soon meets a group of artsy friends, including Janice and Dameon, who are often picked on by the popular ‘plastics’. Soon, a plan is formed for Cady to infiltrate the plastics and sabotage them from the inside. From there, a drama-filled story unfolds. “I think, big picture, it’s [the show] about how we are more than the labels assigned to us,” said junior Eloise Peterson, the actress for Janice, “I feel like that’s especially what Janice is about. Regina bullied her for so long and called her this incredibly mean name that she obviously did not agree to. So, it’s about learning to understand that I am more than what people think I am. I am a three-dimensional person. I don’t have to be something I’m not for other people.” The show certainly hammered this message home in the second act, with the actors leaving the audience with goosebumps from their impeccable delivery.
Mean Girls was more than just an average show. Students at Issaquah High School have put hours of effort into the acting, costuming, set design, choreography, and so much more to bring this incredible tale of self-image and forgiveness to the community. The IHS theater department implores students, families, and teachers to support this and many other future performances to continue the incredible creativity of the students at our school. Their next show will be the Spring One-Act festival, on May 8-9. Be sure to support our Issaquah Eagles as they soar in the theater.
