The cast of TheatreMcLean’s “Anastasia” took press photos with the department’s student-run Publicity team on March 14. The photoshoot marked the beginning of the Publicity team’s campaign to advertise for Anastasia’s opening on April 18.

Headed by senior Valentina Sanchez, the Publicity team is responsible for promoting TheatreMcLean’s productions. Sanchez is currently being shadowed by sophomores Micha Chlan and Alex Valencic.

“I’m going to be co-heading with Alex next year, so this is kind of our practice show for next year,” Chlan said. “I started out in Publicity freshman year and that was headed by Ariel. I did press photos for ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ [in 2022] and I’ve since joined on to do ‘Mr. Burns’ [in 2023].

The Publicity team primarily advertises shows through social media and the TheatreMcLean website. For “Anastasia,” the team hopes to expand their in-person promotional base in the coming weeks.

“Instagram and Tiktok are our biggest promotion platforms,” Chlan said. “I hope we can get some on the [TV] screens at the school.”

For the cast of Anastasia, press day offered an opportunity to explore the aesthetics and mannerisms of each character. Senior Nathan Bass plays Dimitri in Anastasia, a poor man living in St. Petersburg with dreams of escaping authoritarian rule.

“It’s a cool opportunity to get a first look at the character in action,” said senior Nathan Bass, who plays Dimitri in Anastasia. “It’s the first time we really use our costumes and experiment with final looks with the other characters. It allows us to [understand] what the show’s gonna look like when it’s completed.”