What is your schedule like with Mamma Mia?
“My schedule is really busy. I also do drill team and student council. I have to get to school at 6:45 a.m. for dance. Mamma Mia, we’re doing every day until 7 o’clock. So, yeah, I’m here at school a lot. And it can be tiring because I do a lot. It’s a lot with Mamma Mia.”
Is it difficult to balance school and extracurriculars?
“Yeah, it’s like, really, it’s really hard. It’s really stressful. Sometimes. I just gotta like, take it one day at a time, get through it and trust myself. And like, prepare a lot and use any extra time I have to do other things.”
What was the tryout process like for Mamma Mia?
“So I was actually in South Carolina during the tryout. So I didn’t do the typical tryout process like everyone else did. But I submitted a video for my first round, and then I got a callback. And I had to do a callback, like during one of my other periods because it was like literally the day of the cast list getting put out, so I just sang a song. And then they already knew I could dance because I’m on the drill team. And Mrs. Corley has seen me act, so that’s all she needed.”
Is this your first Legacy Theater production?
“It’s my first production with Legacy, but I’ve done other stuff with community theater. But this was my first one in a while. I did a lot of stuff with MCT, which is Mansfield Community Theater. I did Willy Wonka, where I was Veruca Salt, and I did Charlotte’s Web. I’ve also done stuff with MPM Studio Theater and was in Sound of Music and other fun stuff. So just things like that. And I’ve always been a little theater kid.”
What keeps you motivated?
“I think it’s just my passion for things and I really like anything creative, or I like telling stories. I just think it’s like fun to get out of my regular routine and be someone else for a couple of hours and just pretend and be in a completely different world. I’m just a very beast-mode type of person, so, in honesty, if someone asked me to do something, I’ll probably say yes I won’t think of the negatives or anything. I’ll just think of the positive which sometimes can be a bad thing because I do say yes to everything. And I get overwhelmed because I overload myself
with stuff.”
What swayed you to try out for Mamma Mia?
“I’ve always loved Mamma Mia. I’m one of the biggest Mamma Mia fans you’ll ever meet. I love ABBA. I was in the international fan club in third grade. And I’ve always been obsessed with Meryl Streep. I said I wasn’t even gonna do theater, but then they said they were doing Mamma Mia. And I was like, shoot now I gotta do it.”
How do you feel about your castmates?
“We have a really, really talented cast so far. Like, there’s Jordan. She’s a great singer. And, a lot of boys, they’re great actors. And the ensemble. They have a lot of energy in the back when they dance and things. And the people who did the set and stuff are really, really great and the costumes are great. And I would say, I was still nervous coming in at first because it was my first-ever production and all the other people were already in it for a while. But there are people who are just being really nice and telling me I’m doing great. So they’re like supporting me in that way. So they’re great.”
How would you describe the Legacy Mamma Mia musical in one word?
“Spontaneous.”
