Senior Lauren Bauman plays Ariel Moore, the lead female in Theatre South’s upcoming show, Footloose.
Q: Can you summarize Footloose for the people who have not seen the classic movie?
A: Footloose is based in a small, rural town where dancing is banned due to a tragic car accident that led to harsh laws against partying of any kind. Ren is a upbeat high schooler who moves from Chicago to Beaumont and works to move the town out of its past and to reinstate dancing by challenging the authority of Reverend Moore, the most powerful man in the town.
Q: How long have you and the cast been rehearsing for the show?
A: We had our first read through in December and then picked up rehearsals full time after Christmas break when we were back in school.
Q: Can you describe the process of learning all the choreography for the show?
A: It’s been really difficult because usually our choreographer would only come in twice a week, so she would teach us the dances, and then it would be up to us learn it on our own after that. The short rehearsal time which was only two full months also limited our time to practice choreography in rehearsals, so cast members were expected to work outside rehearsals on the dances.
Q: Has there been a lot of personal responsibility involved?
A: Yes, there’s really been a lot of personal responsibility involved in all aspects of the show but especially with the amount of choreography we had to learn.
Q: Would you consider the cast a tight knit group?
A: Yes. Since our choreographer only came twice a week, we relied on each other to review the dances and shared videos of it with other cast members to make sure we had the moves and steps down.
Theatre South’s first showings of Footloose are on Friday, Feb. 23 and Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at www.bctboxoffice.com or at the door of the performance. Tickets are priced at $20 for general admission or $15 for students with an ID and senior citizens over the age of 62.
