From February 21-22nd, Sierra Vista High Schools theatre program dazzled crowds with their 2024-2025 spring musical, Mamma Mia! The musical focuses on a young woman named Sophie – played by Makayla Pacheco (12) – who plans to get married. While anxiously awaiting her wedding, Sophie invites all three of her prospective fathers in a desperate attempt to get walked down the aisle and given away to her fiance, Sky. However, her plan goes wrong when her mother, Donna – played by Amaii Tate (12) – finds each of her ex flings and is thrown into a world of stress, secrecy, and nostalgia all while trying to protect her daughter.
The choice to perform, Mamma Mia! Was inspired by the students. Rebekah Whittenberger, Sierra Vista’s theatre director and teacher reveals, “It was an idea that the students had presented in the previous school year. They asked in April of ’24 if I might consider doing it. We looked at possible set design plans for the musical, the needed size and makeup of the cast, and the talent of the students who had participated in our previous shows. Ultimately we determined that Mamma Mia! was the best choice.”
After deciding the musical, months of work went into the preparations in order to perfect the play for audiences. Whittenberger describes the overall experience, “Firstly, there were several months of preparation… Auditions took place in early November, and once the cast was announced we went to work on learning the music. Thereafter the cast learned the blocking and choreography. Rehearsals were every day from the end of November until February and were conducted after school until 3pm or 5pm, depending on the week day. The entire show was completely staged by the end of January. The set, constructed by the Technical Theatre students, was also completed by the end of January, along with the lighting, costumes, and all of the other design areas that we included in the presentation. Final tech. and dress rehearsals took place in February until we opened on 2/20.” Sophie’s actress, Pacheco describes her experience, “It was such an amazing experience but one of the hardest I have ever had to do. I have had lead roles in the past but one like Sophie came with a lot of responsibilities. I never had any down time during the show so it was always going all across backstage the whole time. I was never bored even during the rehearsal learning a new song or dance every day. I loved the way it challenged my multitasking skills. I would do it all again if I could.” Additionally, Tate describes her experience, “Playing the role of Donna was such a rewarding experience that I’m honored to have… I knew that it would require so much energy and I had to put my all into the role… The role helped me grow my acting abilities the most. It also gave me the chance to inspire people that were watching. To me, that’s the ultimate goal of acting… For every rehearsal, I would practice my music, and memorize my lines. Throughout the months, I would watch the movie a lot as well as other high school productions on YouTube. It helped me find the character of Donna and develop my version of her.”
Although the cast struggled with the limited rehearsal time available to them and confusion in the midst of the chaos of rehearsals and tech week, each performance ran smoothly and successfully and the cast was able to rely on each other to get jobs done. Whittenberger explains, “Each performance went very smoothly. I was very proud of the work that the students put in to produce a fun night of live theatre. The audience was also quite full for every show, with plenty of participation from the crowd throughout. This was especially true at the end of the show when the megamix of ABBA favorites closes out the night with everyone on their feet moving & grooving.”
A large contributor to the success of the musical involves the community within the theatre program. Pacheco elaborates, “…In theater you are encouraged to be loud and expressive in your work that you put so much time into everyday almost like a thought break from school. It’s like having one big family you can just be yourself around without the fear of judgment. Theater is such a variety of such complex personalities that we all complement each other so well. Spending hours on end every single day together almost forced us to bond and get to know one another, both techs and actors. It’s such a team effort being in theater every branch needs the other to sustain success.” Tate adds, “Everyone is so close and connected. We’ve all formed amazing bonds with each other, we lift each other, cheer each other on, laugh, cry, and it’s incredible. I feel like they’re my family…”
The success of the 2024-2025 musical instilled a trust and confidence in the theatre program that they plan to carry on into future productions. Whittenberger elaborates, “The success of this year has instilled a sense of trust within me, that the students will rise to give their best- even when given a challenging project with limited time to prepare and present it…”
On top of this, graduating seniors share their best advice for incoming and returning theatre students. Pacheco shares, “For the future members of Troupe 6576, Be open minded. Do not be hesitant to try new things. Even if you aren’t the best dancer or singer, there is always room for improvement. There isn’t anything in this program that you can’t learn. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and put yourself out there. Theater taught me to be unapologetically myself, on and off stage. It’s a very beneficial program if you want to act or if you want to discover more of your technical intelligence.
For my troupe, please keep going throughout the program. Theater gave me a voice, a home, and most importantly a family. I agree theater is a very intense activity to be apart of. But it is one of the most rewarding experiences of your high school career. Be there for each other always and keep one another close. Your audience friends will never know what it is like to be the one on the stage. Only the ones you share the stage with will. I hope when i’m gone, you all never stop fueling your flames of talent with the program. Keep going because you all deserve to see what we create when all your hard work pays off. Keep going because every step forward is one closer to the finishing product. Keep going because your best performance is yet to come.” Tate adds on, “My best advice to my cast and anyone would be to go for what you believe is right for you. If there’s a role or a part that feels right to you, go for it. If it scares you to do it, do it because deep down you know it’s worth it. Most people have more regrets about the things that they didn’t do in life.”
