The drama department at Ponte Vedra High School just wrapped up their spring performance of “Mamma Mia.” Opening night was Thursday, April 16, and the show ran through Tuesday, April 21.
More than 70 students were involved in the production, and they began rehearsals at the beginning of February.
Jason Nettle, director of drama at Ponte Vedra, said that watching the students work together was a fun process.
“The kids talked me into doing this show,” he said. “It was a perfect show for what we do here; it’s been a lot of fun.”
“‘Mamma Mia’ takes place in Greece, and the students spent a little over two weeks creating and building the set for their production,” said Alexandria Mitsis, stage manager for the show. “They hand-painted everything and incorporated a lot of Greek culture, including mosaics and Grecian patterns. They came to school early to work on it before their classes, and they even had a weekend build day where parent volunteers helped with the heavy lifting. We put in as many hours as we needed to so that it would look the best it could look.”
Mitsis is a senior at Ponte Vedra, and she has been part of the drama department since she was in eighth grade. She said that being able to do this show was very special.
“‘Mamma Mia’ has been a dream for the senior class since we were all freshmen together,” she said. “A lot of seniors got cast in the show, so we get to make it our last hoorah. A lot of the songs in the show are about moving on, and we find that very emotional and very fitting.”
About 20 seniors were involved in the production, and Nettle said they had a lot of fun getting it all together.
“With this show, we just wanted to have as much fun as we could before the end of the year,” he said.
Nettle is about to close out his 10th year as director of drama at Ponte Vedra, and it is clear that the work he does in the drama department has a lasting impact on his students.
“This has been a really cool process, and it’s a lot different than anything I’m used to. I get to be myself,” said senior Brody McLeod.
