This week of “Mamma Mia!” rehearsals were jam packed with work. From learning the last two dances of the show to teaching middle schoolers one of those same dances, the cast had a lot to do this week.

This week started off with learning “Under Attack”, choreographed by dance teacher Ms. Diane Hula.

In this dance Ms. Hula and director Mr. Justin Baldridge wanted to convey the nightmare and stress within Sophie’s head. They spent a lot of time perfecting the overall feeling of the song, talking heavily about the acting portion of the dance. The ensemble showed this feeling with their bodies, becoming the physical representation of Sophie’s anxiety.

“With ‘Mamma Mia!,’ the challenge is you’re taking pop music and turning it into a musical,” commented Mr. Baldridge. “With the musical we have to think about what’s the context of the song?  What are the characters going through in that song and how can we amplify it with all of our choices, with our faces and our bodies?”

Sophomore Ellie Stienberg, who plays Sophie, talked about her excitement this past week.

“I’ve really started to see the show finally come together,” she commented. “We’ve been learning and cleaning dances like crazy, and now that the set has been put up, people are getting excited!”

Although exciting, making the set wasn’t an easy feat.

Senior Cameron Struble talks about the set process and the work to get it perfect.

“We spent all semester working on these sets in 606’s shop class,” they explained. “It was a three day long load in process and a week long touch up process but it was all worth it to see our hand work come to life on stage.”

The set was finally incorporated into the show and was able to be worked with for the next dance.

The other dance learned this week was “Waterloo,” the third encore of the musical. After working quickly to get the choreo into their brains, on Saturday, March 8, the cast taught it to middle schoolers that were interested in the performing arts program at Van Nuys. 

The cast learned these dances fast and have been working hard to keep up, but people like junior Lucy Tait believe that it’s doing

them some good in the long run

“Recently we have been doing non stop dance rehearsals and even though it’s been tough, I feel like I’m becoming a stronger dancer because of it.”

Stay tuned for next week, the long awaited tech week. Many people call tech week magic week; where all the details come together to make the perfect show. While others call it hell week; the week where stress is at an all time high with the days till opening counting down.

Weather tech week for the cast of “Mamma Mia!” will be magic or hell is still up for debate but no matter what, it will be busy. 

Get tickets for the show here or from any of the cast and crew. They will also be in Mr. Baldridge’s room, room 303