Sofia Candela, 11 years old, recently played the lead role of Gertrude in Suessical the Musical at Golden Elementary. Sofia takes over four hours of classes a week at Stagelight Performing Arts, including Acting, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Vocal Music private lessons. We at Stagelight have had the privilege of watching Sofia grow as a performer over the last two years, so we wanted to hear more about her role as Gertrude!

SPA: What do you have in common with Gertrude, the bird?

SC: Gertrude and I are both very dorky, and we both have our own sense of style. We don’t really go along with what the majority does–like Mayzie and the Bird Girls with their giant tails. Gertrude wears Converse and has her own style.

SPA: How did your Stagelight classes help you prepare?

SC: My Stagelight classes really helped because Gertrude is a big character, but she also has times where she is serious and sentimental. My Acting classes really helped with that. My Dance classes helped because Gertrude dances with very precise movements.

SPA: Did you do anything specific to prepare for this role?

SC: I watched, I’m going to say, 10s of 100s of videos of different productions of Suessical to find out what the pool of characters was for Gertrude! When I saw Gertrude, I just fell in love with the character. I’m embarrassed to say I knew all the songs, like, 6 months in advance before auditions!

Hayley Johnson, 15 years old, has been taking classes at Stagelight Performing Arts for two years. Her class load includes Tap Dance and  Vocal Music private lessons with Ms. Darleen. Hayley just played the lead role of Kim McAfee in the Tri-School Theatre’s production of Bye, Bye Birdie.

SPA: How are you like Kim? How are you different?

HJ: Kim is a bubbly fifteen year old who is trying her very best to act like more of a mature woman than a young teen. She tries to convince herself, her parents, her friends, and even Conrad Birdie that she is no longer a child and that she knows it all. Kim and I are very different people in the sense that I know that I don’t want to grow up too fast. I love being young, and if I could stop time for just a little while, I would. Kim and I, however different, are also similar in some ways. We both love getting dressed up and being with our friends, and we both truly care about the people around us, as Kim displays while comforting the characters of Rosie and Hugo.

SPA: What special things did you do to prepare to play the role of Kim?

HJ: I spent a lot of time after being cast analyzing my lines and writing little notes on how I thought Kim would speak or what she would do while delivering the line. I also spent time sifting through many different renditions of the character and incorporating my favorite things from each into my own rendition to really try to make the character my own and give her life onstage.

SPA: How did your training at Stagelight prepare you for this role?

HJ: “Bye Bye Birdie” is a high energy show that is absolutely packed with music and dancing (and screaming teenagers). Not only have my vocal training and all of my dance experience at Stagelight helped me along the way, but the constant encouragement from my teachers to let loose and give the best performance that I possibly can have allowed me to keep up with all of the antics that come with this show. Also, I never would’ve been able to get through the grueling audition process without my training at Stagelight.

Rosa Snyder, 14 years old, has been a student at Stagelight Performing Arts for over two years. Rosa currently takes three hours of ballet per week at Stagelight. She recently played the exciting lead role in Legally Blonde at her school: Elle Woods! We caught up with Rosa to find out more about her role as Elle.

SPA: Tell me about your process in becoming Elle Woods. Did you do anything special to portray her?

RS: When I was younger I would watch Legally Blonde on repeat. When my school announced we were doing Legally Blonde for our Spring Musical, I immediately started listening to the soundtrack again and looked up Legally Blonde on YouTube. I watched multiple performances of different  people portraying Elle, and I kind of combined all the different aspects. My teachers also made me and my classmates do different assignments on character analysis to help bring our roles to life.

SPA: What was your favorite part about playing Elle?

RS: I loved every minute of being Elle. I loved being able to play such a fun character and growing such a bond with my cast members. I couldn’t tell you my favorite part because I enjoyed all of it… well, except for taking off the mic tape at the end of each show.

SPA: How did your training at Stagelight prepare you for this role?

RS: I took two privates with Ms. Darleen and she helped me with vocal control and helped me learn that if I tried to belt every single note I would have blown out my voice.  Ms. Danielle helped teach me that the little moments in a show matter. If I had just gone onstage and said my lines then walked offstage, it would not have been a very enjoyable show to watch!

Well done, Rosa! We are so proud of you!