Local Actor plays Lead Role in Beauty and the Beast

Local Actor plays Lead Role in Beauty and the Beast

Michelle Pinon News Advertiser

Former Vegreville resident Ciera Vadnais will be the leading lady in the upcoming production of Beauty and the Beast at the Maclab Centre for the Performing Arts which runs Feb. 28 and 29, March 1, 5 and 6 in Leduc.

Ciera promises, “This performance is going to make you laugh, cry and hopefully bring you back to the days of Disney when you first felt that magic spark when Beauty met Beast.”

It will be the first time Ciera is going to be a “leading lady” and she is incredibly excited. “Especially playing Belle! I mean, wow. I know it sounds cheesy but it literally is a dream come true!”

The 26-year-old, who currently resides in Edmonton, had to perform a song during the audition last September. “My mom actually suggested the song I should sing, which was ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’ by Julie Andrews. So to prepare, I watched the scene from ‘My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn and replayed the You Tube clip over and over, until I knew the song well enough to try it out with the karaoke track. Despite feeling confident and knowing the song inside and out, my heart was still pounding so hard that it was hard to breathe. But, I guess it didn’t show through as much as I thought!

Since then, Ciera has been practicing as much as she possibly can on her own, as well as rehearsing with the cast every Sunday afternoon. “I have a Biology major and a Drama minor from Concordia University of Edmonton. I currently work at an Edmonton nonprofit organization called Family Futures Resource Network and I am the Child and Youth Supervisor.”

Ciera as Belle with Lumiere, Aaron Schaan and Cogsworth, Scott Darl Boomer.

(Submitted Photo)

Ciera loves acting and making people laugh. “I have so much fun during rehearsals, getting to know so many new, hilarious and lovely people. This type of activity is incredible for boosting your self-confidence and helping you make friends. I would be really sad if I didn’t have any theatre in my life!”

She went onto say, “Theatre has taught me how to laugh at myself and learn to roll my mistakes, holding my head high and laughing as much as possible. Every role I’ve played has led me to be more and more open-minded. I’ve learned that the world is a big place, and living in it with a narrowmind and fear will leave you missing out on incredible experiences.”

Ciera first got into acting at a very young age. “I was in a community theatre group in Vegreville when I was in Grade 5, so that would be around 2003/2004, and we performed for one of the seniors’ homes in town. We put on two short plays that were spoofs of traditional stories like the Three Little Pigs. The thing I remember most strongly was that the day of the play I had sat on my glasses and they broke in the middle so I had to use tape to hold the pieces together. Slightly embarrassing, but it worked with the character- -unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in school but you’ve got to learn to laugh about these things!”

What she enjoys most about acting, “Is being able to see through the eyes of whichever character I’m playing. It’s unlike anything else, stepping into another person’s life and escaping your own reality for a little bit. You not only learn so much about your character you also learn so much about yourself.”

Her advice for students is not to take themselves too seriously, “to let of your ego, be silly and have fun”. Her advice for parents is to be “encouraging, understanding” and to always be ready to read lines with their children.