The PNR caught up with two of the lead actresses in Parkland Secondary School’s musical performance of Legally Blonde, The Musical to talk characters, challenges and their love of acting.
Grade 10 student Isobel Sheridan is excited to play the lead, Elle Woods.
“It feels really great,” she said in an interview, while dressed in a hot pink dress with sequinned glitter and neon pink high heels.
She said she loves playing the character of Elle as she is very strong and independent.
“At the beginning of the show she doesn’t see her full potential but she’s a very smart, witty girl, and she gets pushed to see her own potential and it’s really great.”
Elle is also very emotional, which provided Sheridan with one of her on-stage challenges as there are a lot of emotional scenes with her character.
She also found her character relatable.
“I find it very easy to connect with her because she’s very much like most girls in high school and what they go through with relationships and everything.”
Sheridan began acting when she was just nine years old and hadn’t done any musical theatre in the past year. She did, however, work with different theatre companies when she was younger.
What does she like about acting?
“You get to be someone else. It’s nice to pull away from whatever you’re going through and you get to become someone else and you get to make it your own.”
Best friend to Sheridan’s character is hairdresser Paulette Bonafonte, being played by co-lead actor and Grade 12 student, Carenza Stevens.
When Sheridan’s character, Elle, gets to Harvard University, Bonafonte is one of the first people she connects with. Carenza said the pair are kind of the same — both kooky and obsessed with Ireland.
“I tell the story of how I’ve kind of been left and how I’m feeling quite lonely but I still keep high spirits …” said Stevens.
She said her character is very fun and crazy, but with that comes challenges in trying to keep in character the whole time. She said her character is strong throughout the play, adding she has to be very vibrant the whole time, which she said is a fun challenge.
“I really enjoy having to play this different kind of character.”
Carenza has taken part in a lot of dance throughout her life, performing for around 14 years. She picked up acting over the past few years at Parkland and has been in musical theatre for around three years.
She was a dancer in Grade 10 in the production of Zombie Prom, but this is the first year she has gotten a lead role.
Carenza said what she likes most is being on stage and having the sense of freedom.
“It makes me feel so happy to be on the stage. It gives me a sense of excitement. I just love performing, and I love if I have a really funny character.
“I love making other people smile,” she continued, “and that’s like my main thing when I’m being Paulette, I just love making people smile and making them laugh.”
Legally Blonde hits the stage Feb. 3 to 6 at Parkland Secondary.
