Having child-like qualities landed a student in a precarious situation at an Okotoks area school.
Ryan Vance wound up on the stage at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir High School as the lead Buddy for the school’s production of the musical Elf, which runs until Dec. 7.
“I think I carry a lot of the characteristics of Buddy,” Vance said with a laugh about the character played by Will Ferrell. “I really enjoyed the character — I get to be loud and sing and dance.”
It’s the first time the Grade 12 student has been in an STS high school production — he’s not a drama student.
“I have always performed — giving speeches and making people laugh,” Vance said. “This year at our annual speech day, I did a skit with my friend and people really loved it and they asked me to try out for the musical… This is my last year of school and I thought ‘why not try as much as I can?”’
He’s got the Buddy character down pat — right down to woofing down some spaghetti topped with maple syrup.
Playing Buddy has helped him recapture some of his childlike enthusiasm for the holiday season.
“As a kid, I really loved the wonder of waking up on Christmas morning — I loved revisiting that wonder that I had as a little kid,” Vance said.
Meanwhile, Abigail Prevost, a Grade 12 Drama student, plays Buddy’s heartthrob, Jovie (played by Zooey Deschanel, in the becoming Christmas classic flick).
“Jovie is a bit different from me, it’s almost easier that way — I can separate me from Jovie,” she said. “She’s very — not grumpy — but not into all the Christmas decorating and the joy of everything.
“She’s very distant for the first part, but Buddy gets her into it (the Christmas spirit).”
Unlike Vance, Prevost is a veteran on the STS stage. She was in Mamma Mia! last school year.
She’s enjoyed playing opposite ingenuous Buddy, played by the rookie Vance.
“He (Vance) definitely gives off a lot of energy,” Prevost said. “I’m usually not super outgoing so it is really easy to act with Ryan. He’s so energetic, even when he’s not Buddy.
“He’s got a lot of jokes and a lot of things to make me less nervous and more relaxed. I’m very happy with that.
“I didn’t even know this was his first play until now.”
She’s loved the whole Elf experience.
“It’s a smaller cast but a lot of my friends are in it,” Prevost said. “The songs are so different from what you normally sing.
“It’s been so much fun.”
As for the rookie actor, Vance is surprisingly Fred-Astaire-like on the dance floor thanks to an STS Spartan staple: the Spartan rugby team.
“With dancing, footwork in the scrum is something you have to focus on,” said Vance, a flanker with the squad.
Elf runs Dec. 5 to 7 at 7 p.m. at STS. There is a matinee on Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. For ticket information go to www.strathconatweedsmuir.com/student-life/fine-arts/tickets/
