Many cast members of “Life as a Musical “ prepare to shoot a music number for the movie. The film will debut Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on the lawn Under the Oaks.

The film is entitled “Life as a Musical” and was directed by senior Stevie Kloeber and produced by sophomore Amy Reitnouer as undergraduate research credit.

“The idea developed when Stevie and I met up in Los Angeles this past summer,” Reitnouer said. “We started joking about the idea of how much both of us always wanted to make a musical. When we returned in the fall, we immediately got to work on a script, eventually finding a composer, lyricist and choreographer, in addition to a full film crew.”

“I thought it would be something fun and different to do that would separate this student film from other student films that have been made on campus,” Kloeber said. “In my past four years at Elon, I couldn’t remember any other cinema majors making a musical.”

The musical focuses on the story of Guy, played by senior music theater major Ken Handler. According to Reitnouer, Guy is a “somewhat dull and average college student who finds that he can only express himself when he sings.”

“One day, he decides to live his life like a musical, and catches the eye of the girl he loves in the process,” Reitnouer said.

The girl, Maria, is played by freshman music theater major Annie Duckett, and Guy’s best friend Buddy is played by sophomore Will Amato.

Scenes from the musical were shot across campus in various locations such as a classroom in Alamance, a bathroom in McEwen Communications building, the Honors Pavilion, the front of Smith and Carolina dormitories and around Fonville Fountain.

“Unlike traditional movie musicals,” Reitnouer said, “no one else is in on [Guy’s] odd behavior, so instead of getting a group of backup dancers when he breaks into song, like every other musical out there, Guy just gets weird looks.”

The title of the film, “Life as a Musical,” was inspired by the Facebook group “Life would be cooler if it was a musical.”

A movie musical like Kloeber and Reitnouer’s was never done at Elon before.

Klober and Reitnouer were advised by Peter Kiwitt, broadcasting professor. Kiwitt helped the pair edit their script and gave them advice and supervision throughout the production process.

“Life as a Musical” is particularly innovative because it combines the efforts of several departments, including music theater, dance, theater, cinema, corporate communications, broadcast communications and education. All of the songs in the film were student-produced as well, with music composed by freshman Chris Beeson and lyrics written by senior Jason Spinos.

“There is a lot of work that goes into making a film,” Kloeber said. “Yet there are so many other components that you have to think about when you add in musical numbers.”

Because many of the cast members were involved with other theater productions, and because the 10-to-15-person crew had busy schedules as well, call times for shooting sessions were often extremely early or extremely late.

“It was a balancing act,” Reitnouer said. “We had a 7 a.m. call time for the final scene around the fountain.”

The students’ $150 film budget went toward things like advertising and marketing, camera tapes and even a new pair of tap shoes for one of the cast members.

Reitnouer said, the film has taken “lots of time and lots of effort,” over eight months total, but was “totally worth it.”

“Producing is what I want to do with my life, so this was a big step for me,” Reitnouer said.

Kloeber and Reitnouer plan to continue to promote their film and to submit it to the student film competitions like the CinElon film festival.

Tuesday’s premiere will include a screening of the film followed a question and answer session with the cast and filmmakers.