roles on stage. She takes direction and then flies with it.” Mrs Thorpe was equally delighted with Lizzie’s performance and growth as a performer, noting that: “Lizzie has been a stalwart for many years in the ensembles. She has always been reliable and has a strong singing voice. “We were delighted that this year she was able to create the role of Tanya; her dedication and hard work really paid off!” Of course, all these leading ladies needed the male counterparts to help tell the tale. All three male leads were played by female students, and their portrayals were delivered more through technique than make-up or wardrobe. The three “dads”; Salayah Stange ’22 (as Sam), Natalie Calderon ‘20 (as Harry) and Christina de Kock ’23 (as Bill), spent time honing their body movements and voices to portray the men and, interestingly, were not overly made-up to appear more masculine. “We deliberately didn’t make them look like men by putting them in short wigs or facial hair,” says Mrs Thorpe. “We focus on teaching the girls how to use their lower register, their intonation and also to use their body language in a less feminine way. Even in the dancing we changed some steps to reflect how male dancers dance. “Something must have worked as apparently some people thought two of the principal men were boys, despite their long hair!” Backing these central characters was an impressive cast of minor characters and the ensemble. In fact, one of the particular challenges of Mamma Mia! was the shear size of the supporting cast, with 81 members in total, plus all the back stage personnel.


“Our aim is to try to include all those who want to be involved,” says Mrs Thorpe. “Getting that many of them to work together took time and energy but we feel it was, on the whole, successful. They all worked so hard and to watch (them) grow from the humble beginnings to their finale moments makes all the Creative Team feel so proud. “It takes a lot of people to put on a show and every one of them is key in some way.”


18 Torchbearer Spring 2018


As such an across-school project Musical Director, Dave Pitman, says the impact on the students extends well beyond the stage or the life span of the production. “Our casts have students from Year 7-IB2 and it is so refreshing to see how the younger girls look up to the older, graduating students and how the older ones take them under their wing without a moment’s hesitation. “Friendships are borne through musical theatre that transcend age!”


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