Eagle Era

Sophomore Grace Zhao’s experience co-choreographing Mean Girls with no prior experience

By Aarnav Raamkumaar

On any regular day during rehearsals for Mean Girls, AHSPA’s 2026 spring musical, Grace Zhao (10) was doing everything all at once. With a production so demanding, things wouldn’t have been able to run without Zhao’s precise, behind-the-scenes coordination which built the production choreography from the ground up and shaped it into a performance the crowd loved.

Ms. Benedetti, the director of Mean Girls and a drama teacher at AHS, was especially impressed by Zhao’s dancing and her ability to learn and teach choreography. She said, “She taught tap in such a short time, better than I’d ever learned in high school. And she’s a sophomore too; it blows my mind.” 

In addition to the impressive tap number “Stop,” Zhao, along with another choreographer, Gianna Lee (10), choreographed dances for every dance number in the show without assistance. Zhao’s efforts did not go unnoticed. Mikaela Torres (12), one of her cast members and friends, said, “Grace is one of the hardest working people I’ve known in the theater. She’s always so determined and so good at everything she does—as an actor, choreographer, and friend.”

Someone outside the theater may not understand the true extent of the effort put into the production, but for Zhao, the work she puts in is constant. “Grace literally makes all of the formations. She puts so much time into it, and she makes sure she’s on top of everything. She knows everything about it,” said Lee. “She cares so much about the production, which I really, really admire.” 

Even when her responsibilities extended past rehearsals, she handled it with grace and still got everything done. “You don’t really see all of the work that she does outside of rehearsals,” said Cinthana Santhakumar (12), the co-stage manager for Mean Girls. “Rehearsals run really long; they’re usually 3 to 5 hours sometimes, but even after going home—even when she’s exhausted—she still choreographs more dances, grades assignments, and helps out people.”

According to Zhao, each dance number needed its own time and effort. She said, “I would spend hours actually deciding what moves I wanted to go at, what beats, and decide formations. And another thing a lot of people don’t realize—I have to know what is going on onstage, but also backstage.”

Grace Zhao performed “Sexy,” a dance number from Mean Girls (Photo Credit: Mumin Yousif (11)).

Zhao’s commitment to her leadership shows just why she was chosen to be the choreographer. Ms. Benedetti said, “She started as a dance captain, and then we bumped up her position to choreographer once I saw just how much work she was also doing.” This promotion happened within a week of her becoming dance captain. 

Regarding choreographing, Zhao said, “I feel like it came very naturally. I had a vision for how I wanted them to look. Figuring it out wasn’t something I struggled with since I already had a picture in my head, and executing that wasn’t hard.” 

Being a leader, but also a regular actor doing a show with her friends, Zhao must achieve a balance between being friendly and responsible. Sophie Leiner (10), a Mean Girls cast member, said, “She’s locked in when she needs to be, and she’s strict and keeps us in check when we need to be kept in check. But when we’re just cast members, she’s super fun to work with.”

Another cast member, Lexi Dumatol (11), said, “She’s really fun, but you have to make sure that you’re on top of everything. Otherwise, she will clock you, which I think makes her a better boss.” 

In addition to being assertive, Zhao makes sure to keep Theater 70 an inclusive space where every performer has their chance to shine. She said, “The energy that we have in this cast is also so good; you can see it. They’re literally radiating on stage with energy, and that’s really entertaining to see.”

This same energy carried into rehearsals, where Zhao balanced her high expectations with encouragement. Dumatol said, “She’s always so jolly, and she’s always trying to push us to be better. I think that’s great because we need the motivation. And she’s always excited.” 

Grace Zhao with cast member Sana Arora (11) in Mean Girls (Photo Credit: Mumin Yousif (11)).

Ms. Benedetti said, “I think something that she did really, really well was making sure that everybody has their moment, and everybody’s feeling seen in the show.” 

Even with her energy, keeping up with academic work and theater together is no easy feat. Ms. Benedetti noted, “I think she’s handling things very, very well right now. And if she isn’t, she doesn’t let it show. I think she gives off a very good face of, ‘I’m handling this. I’m doing very well. I’ve got things under control.’” 

Zhao, however, acknowledged that juggling it all was harder than she had let on. She said, “Balancing this much at one time has been really challenging, and my mental health has not been the greatest. Obviously, the reality of it has been that I’ve had to have a lot of late nights and all-nighters, and it’s been affecting my health, too.”

Despite this, Zhao’s passion for the theater and the friends she’s made make it worth it for her. “The thing that keeps me going is my passion for the theater, obviously,” she said. “But also, I think it’s the people there. Because the community is so tight-knit, so close—like such a loving community—seeing their hard work also is what pushes me to keep trying for them.”