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!

Scarlett Clark, a 9 year old Stagelighter, takes four classes per week at Stagelight Performing Arts including Acting II, Ballet, Tap and private Vocal lessons. Scarlett is a focused and determined student who recently got cast in a staged reading of the new play Fledgling at StagesTheatre in Fullerton.  With a mostly adult cast, Scarlett held her own as a young professional. We caught up with Scarlett to ask all about her experience.

SPA: Tell me about your role in the show.

SC: I was Quill, a baby bird. She is kind of a silly character who is very jumpy and active.

SPA: What was the most difficult thing about this role?

SC: I had to move around a lot! There was no dancing, no choreography, I just had to jump around the stage. It was a lot of energy. I also had many lines to memorize–more than I’ve ever had, so that was difficult.

SPA: How it working with mostly adults rather than just kids?

SC: It was really fun!

SPA: What was your favorite part about being in this show?

SC: I made friends with the cast, and we made jokes and had a lot of fun back stage!

Well done, Scarlett! We look forward to watching your continued successes as a performer!

Bridgette Sanders, 12 year-old Stagelighter, recently played the role of Timon in her school’s production of Disney’s The Lion King. Bridgette takes four classes per week at Stagelight Performing Arts, including Musical Theatre, Tap, Acting, and she is a member of the Stagelight Improv Team, the Lumberjack Baristas. As often as she can, Bridgette is fulfilling her makeups in Ballet, making sure she gets as much technique training in as she can! We caught up with Bridgette during her busy schedule to ask her all about her experience of playing one of the funniest characters to grace stage and screen: Timon.

SPA: What did you do to prepare specifically for this role?

Bridgette: I watched the movie almost every week to understand and copy Timon’s characteristics and to watch how he interacts with other people–or animals!

SPA: What surprised you about this role?

Bridgette: The makeup surprised me a lot, and the hair. The makeup really made me look like a meerkat!

SPA: What was your favorite part of playing Timon in The Lion King?

Bridgette: My favorite part was doing the Luau song. We got to run into the audience, and it was really fun!

SPA: What is a really special memory you’ll take away from this show?

Bridgette: A really special memory would be that my fellow castmate Pumbaa and I had so much fun and became really good friends.