It was mid-October that the students got administration approval to do a student-led production of The Great Gatsby. Cora - the only freshman in the cast - then was chosen to play Jordan, one of the leads. She also was picked to understudy Daisy, the other female lead. This in itself was all quite an honor, especially given Cora's limited acting experience.
The students had only five weeks to put the show together.
Cora helped a lot with the sets, and she and I had a fun evening together looking for 1920s costumes at a vintage clothing store in Burbank.
The dress found... Oh. My. Goodness. Look at her! It was absolutely perfect.
Cora seriously rocked her role.
I know I am a biased mom saying it, but as my actor sister said, her instincts for the character were spot-on. She wasn't merely reciting lines, and then quietly waiting on stage for her next line. She WAS Jordan the entire time.
She stole her scenes, and had many people coming up to her after show show saying that she was their favorite character. People she didn't even know were saying this to her! (And to be honest, that part was HARD for her. She wanted to crawl into the wall of the set, rather than accept the praise from people she didn't know, and even people she did know.)
Cast shot, taken by Grandpa!
The actors got permission to wear the clear plastic masks you see here - SUCH a blessing to see their mouths!
I pitched in by making this cast photo board.
This was one of Cora's longest scenes - she's basically narrating the history of Daisy and Gatsby, who are on the right side, acting it out. Cora is telling this history to Nick, her love interest (who is played by a girl, because the cast had only one male! Crazy.)
We are all SO proud of our Jordan!
A final huddle with Jarod, the sub (who is an acting coach) and Ben, the student director.
Nick and Jordan
Cora had several friends attend, including Cami here, and also Anna and Zach.
Cora was beyond honored that Kelly and Yass came to cheer her on for the last of the three shows, along with Auntie Mel. These three actors all said Cora was the best most natural talent on the stage.
It was strange for me and Stace, seeing her excel to such an extent, when she has so little experience. Like Peter Parker's friends realizing he's actually Spiderman, Cora has a secret super power!
(But, it's not completely unexpected - she was a great Dorothy in first grade, she loved her GATE Musicals in elementary school, and she's acting every time she plays D&D, complete with accents.)
We look forward to more to come in Cora's future!
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