By Michelle Bless
Patrons have been watching Moonlight Musicals performances for 14 years. People understand casts rehearse prior to the show, but rarely do people know how many rehearsals it takes to get the lines right, how many runs of the choreography before the steps are perfected. A behind the scenes video shows the cast preparing for “Elf the Musical.”
After hours of rehearsing lines, songs, and dance numbers, three leading actors of the show sat down to share their experiences in Moonlight Musicals and how they relate to their roles.
“I think I personally relate to my character quite a bit and her interactions with other people,” Mallory Flores, Jovie, said. “So as much as I enjoy working with the two of them, I think it’s a little easier for me to draw on some of that alone-ness, that withdrawal that Jovie feels.”
Keegan Peck and Mitchell Britton, who play Buddy and Walter Hobbs, respectively, have worked together with Flores on several shows. Building the tension between their characters has not been easy, they said.
“It is hard for me with him (Peck) because we are such good friends,” Britton said. “To speak to him in that tone of voice and have the emotion that I really don’t love him or care for him, as my character’s son at that point, is hard to do.”
Peck said while portraying the love-hate relationship on stage can be difficult, acting with a friend makes the challenge more conquerable.
“In a way, it’s a little easier because you know the other person so well,” Peck said, “so you can kind of feel things out a little differently than if you didn’t know the person.”
The three actors are all working full-time jobs but still make time in their busy schedules for their love of the stage.
“We all have our own lives where jobs are stressful,” Britton said. “This is a way you can go somewhere and for a few hours escape reality.”
About Reece Nations, Managing Editor
