Madeline Cheng, a senior majoring in music composition, and Kaitlyn Son, a senior majoring in vocal arts and business administration, have parallel experiences pursuing art careers among engineers in the San Francisco Bay Area, which have impacted their work in creative spaces throughout their academic careers. As they go through their conclusive year at USC, this experience shaped how they narrated their capstone project: “From Scratch (7 Friends, 7 Years Later).”

In Cheng and Son’s upcoming opera, the pair of Thornton School of Music students explores the stark social transition that takes place between high school and college graduation.

“Have you ever been to your hometown and tried to visit your friends, and things are a little bit awkward, like you’re not the same person that you used to be?” said Cheng.

Cheng collaborated with Son to go above and beyond for their capstone young artist project. The assignment, which is typically a short scene study, blossomed into a full one-act opera inspired by the lives and experiences of its two creators.

“From Scratch (7 Friends, 7 Years Later)” draws from Cheng and Son’s parallel upbringings as Asian Americans from the San Francisco Bay Area. Cheng and Son said that because many students from the area seek careers in tech and computer science, the choice to study the arts felt unconventional for the two.

“It was a little weird for us as people who want to go into the arts to be raised in [a tech-centric environment],” said Cheng, “We each have respective stories about [growing up as artists in a STEM-focused area], but we were trying to channel that into this process.”

Drawing inspiration from works such as “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” “From Scratch” incorporates modern language designed to last. Dialogue-driven in its conversational style, the opera is also influenced by jazz, prompting the performers to bounce off of each other like brass and string to create a romance of friendship.

The opera follows seven friends who have all graduated from college and chosen different paths. One pursues her passions in the arts, another works in corporate finance, and another works as an influencer.

“We’re always playing old people in opera and just kind of aging ourselves to fit, and I thought we could create something that [younger generations] can really relate to,” Son said.

Having worked with characters and stories that normally end in tragedy, Son saw “From Scratch” as an opportunity to create a message of hope. In this story, opera does not have to end in tragedy to be meaningful.

Cheng and Son wrote their one-act opera with the expectation that mostly students would be attending their show, and said they hoped to send the message that post-graduation life can be something hopeful to look forward to, rather than a sentence of doom.

In the end, according to Son, the opera stands as a reminder that even those who seem to have it together internally desire what another has.

Each of the characters in the show was matched to the personalities of their performers, according to Son. The creators said they hoped to make the characters match the authenticity of a youthful, modern voice.

To get into the headspace of his corporate finance character, Noah, Christopher Renfro, a junior majoring in vocal arts, said he faced the complex task of drawing from his own experiences while still portraying the authenticity of someone who followed very different passions from himself.

“[I visualize] the future of when I am working and providing under the stress of all these [post-grad] responsibilities. How am I going to respond to that when I step into the rehearsal space?” said Renfro.

Renfro’s character grapples with the difficulty of corporate life, finding doubt in his choices and struggling with the structure of a 9-to-5 job. While Renfro himself follows a different career path, the desire to make a living and pursue success still rings true. Meanwhile, Noah’s peers in the show doubt their own choices, wondering if they should instead seek what Noah has.

Cheng and Son said their goal is to remind students that their choices are not what make up their value — rather, it is the relationships and passions they pursue along the way.

Cheng and Son themselves balanced passion and work as they brought this show to life. Son completed work for two very different majors, while Cheng worked a full-time job. The ambition of its creators was reflected in “From Scratch,” as it aims to push its audience toward the hopeful future they can create for themselves. With each juggling busy work schedules, the show was an ambitious dream.

“By the time we get to the end of the show, [the characters are] like, ‘There’s no place I’d rather be than right here,’” said Renfro. “Especially as somebody who’s going through college right now, it’s reassuring and relatable to be in that boat somewhere along that journey.”

“From Scratch (7 Friends, 7 Years Later)” will premiere Oct. 25 at the MacDonald Recital Hall.