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Here We Go Again: Backstage at Mamma Mia!

Eastlight Theatre, a community theaters in the Peoria area, held auditions for “Mamma Mia!” in July. Now, after two months of long and strenuous hours of rehearsals, the cast was finally ready to perform in front of an audience. The production, directed by the talented Lexi Grant-Zellmer, runs from Sept. 13-15 and 18-21.

One of the principal members of the cast is Clarissa Dolan.

“I have so many mixed emotions,” Dolan said. “I’m excited and honored to be playing the role of Tanya. What a fun and sassy character who gets to sing amazing music. I was also nervous at first [because] everyone knows and loves this musical along with all the characters. They have this expectation on how it should be and I wanted to make sure that I was able to deliver that.”

Along with the eight principal characters, the talented cast also featured an ensemble, which included member Casey Nabors, a Bradley student.

“I absolutely love being a part of Eastlight,” Nabors said. “I am new to the area and was looking for a way to make friends. My in-laws and husband convinced me to audition for ‘Mamma Mia’ and I’m so glad I did. Everyone has been so friendly, welcoming and kind. Performing at Eastlight has been so much fun and I hope to be a part of their future productions.”

Slav Asenov, a sophomore at Bradley, attended the show on Sunday, Sept. 15 and praised the production.

“It was an enjoyable, hilarious dramatic production with great casting of both principals, especially Sophie [Tiffany Riech], and the ensemble,” Asenov said.

While many performers audition for Bradley productions, anyone who loves theatre should also consider auditioning for shows in the Peoria area. Anyone performing in theatre, community or otherwise, can reap many substantial benefits.

One of such benefits include that, through the extensive rehearsal process, you can cultivate amazing friendships, which may last for long even after the production’s final curtain call.

Furthermore, while the countless hours of rehearsing are fun and sometimes tiring, the experience of performing in front of an audience cannot be replicated by anything. For that, it does not matter where you perform.

Although performing in the community instead of on campus does provide logistical challenges, for example, having to go to school for part of the day, do homework and then go to a five-hour rehearsal, a person who loves theatre should never be afraid to branch out and get as much theatrical experience as possible.

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