Theatre South gets ready to perform in Grease on Thursday April 9th and Friday the 10th at 7 p.m., and Saturday the 11th at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. 

Students have worked with director Britney Kouma, music director Eric Doades, and choreographer Allexis Dorsey in preparation for Grease. Featuring iconic songs such as “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and “Greased Lightnin,’” Grease follows two main groups of high school students, the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies, as they navigate friendship, love, and life in the 1950s. 

Junior Audrey Clampitt is in the role of Sandy Dumbrowski, the ingenue character and new girl in town who falls in love with leader of the T-Birds, Danny Zuko. When asked about her favorite part of being in the show, Clampitt said “doing it with my best friends” is what has made her experience in Grease so special. 

For junior Pluto Mou, who plays the sly, older “disc jockey” Vince Fontaine, he expressed that he loves the community he gets to be a part of, and said that “being in a musical is all about having other people to interact with.”

Both Clampitt and Mou described their processes for getting into character. For Mou, who describes his character as a “sleazeball,” he said that putting on the “worst persona” that he can think of as well as altering his voice are important steps. For Clampitt, listening to her designated “Sandy” music playlist before each rehearsal and understanding Sandy’s thought process helps her fully embody the character. 

Mou says that working with a wonderful team of people and castmates helps him enjoy the rehearsal process. He also noted his desire to keep the material he is performing fresh and organic, stating that “there’s only so many times you can rep a piece before it starts getting really frustrating.” Clampitt said that for her the best part of the rehearsal process is wearing her costumes. She remarked that when wearing the costumes, she feels like she is “finally Sandy.”

When speaking about his love for performing, Mou says that the best part has been interacting with the crowd before the big “Hand-Jive” scene. He said getting their feedback creates “a really nice back and forth.” Clampitt said that playing her dream role of Sandy and getting to perform “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and “You’re the One That I Want” is the most rewarding part of her performance in Grease.