241 DRAW BACK THE Curtain Junior Gabi Gonzalez wears a variety of hats in the Harding Theatre Department. AND 5, 6, 7, 8... Junior Gabi Gonzalez teaches choreography to the cast of “The Little Mermaid” at Harding Academy. Gonzalez was Spring Sing director for women’s social club Ju Go Ju in spring 2021. Photo by: Julianne Baker WHEN IT CAME TO THEATER PRODUCTION in the Harding community, nobody had as many feet in as many doors as junior Gabi Gonzalez. In spring 2021, she was the assistant stage manager for Spring Sing. During fall 2021, she stepped into the roles of stage manager for Harding University’s production of “Little Women,” choreographer for Harding Academy’s production of “The Little Mermaid” and sound manager for Harding’s fall 2021 Homecoming production “Elf the Musical.” “At one moment this semester, she was deeply involved with three major productions at the same time, and yet she was still managing to do exactly what was expected of her,” associate professor of theater Ben Jones said. Gonzalez’s reputation as an excellent teacher reached the theater community in big ways, and she made an impression on her peers. Freshman Aubrey Jones saw potential in her fellow theater major. “Gabi is incredibly hard working and very determined,” Jones said. “She’s not afraid of challenges and faces them head on, which is an essential quality to have as a stage manager.” Gonzalez’s versatility and flexibility helped expand her application of knowledge and skill in different and powerful ways. “Stage managing a play and choreographing a musical can be very similar but at the same time so different,” Gonzalez said. “For the play ‘Little Women’ I’m not having to annotate how much movement they’re doing, but it’s still a lot of work making sure you have all of the right props on stage and having each person in their correct place. In ‘Little Mermaid’ it’s a lot of making sure that they know the actual choreography along with the music.” Because memorizing all choreography of a production was difficult, Gonzalez used several tools to help keep her accountable while also moving the process forward. “I can’t remember 300 moves, so I video them dancing to keep myself accountable,” Gonzalez said. “That way both myself and the students can remember what we covered over the past week or even month. A lot of it is processing the choreography after it has initially been set.” Gonzalez had several mentors, friends and coworkers to help affirm her talents and the progress she made as an instructor. “Personality-wise, she’s one of those people who sees what needs to be done and finds a way to do it that incorporates and encourages other people,” Jones said. “She has been able to drive the process forward so that the students are accomplishing things while also making the process enjoyable for them. That is not an easy thing to do, but she’s doing it really well.” During the choreographing of “The Little Mermaid,” Gonzalez discovered an appreciation and love for the students that she worked with. “I’ve not always been the biggest fan of kids, but through ‘Little Mermaid,’ I have learned to love on those students and build relationships with them,” Gonzalez said. “Yes, I was learning to choreograph for a high school show, but I was also learning to be their friend and their mentor as well.” Jones noticed Gonzalez’s strong work ethic. “She was able to accomplish everything that was asked of her in a great way while still donning that trademark smile and bounce to her step that makes everything better when she walks in the room,” Jones said. WRITTEN BY ZACH BISHOP
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