St. Marys actor, Alba Evora Weiler, shines at The Grand Theatre

Talented Alba Evora Weiler plays the role of Elsa in Disney’s Frozen at the Grand Theatre. On now until January 4th

By Wendy Lamond

When I sat down with Alba Evora Weiler to learn about her current role as Elsa in Disney’s Frozen at the Grand Theatre, my first thought was, “This girl is going places.”

She was very well spoken, informative but what caught my attention more than anything was the love and passion she has for performing and being part of something magical.

Weiler started performing at the young age of seven in a small role in a TV show called In the Dark. Since then, she has been in the TV series Under the Banner of Heaven and Borje. At the age of 10, she got involved in musical theatre and absolutely fell in love with it. The love of theatre took her out to Calgary where she played Nina Barron in the play, Beaches at Theatre Calgary and then back to The Grand Theatre where she played Brigitta in The Sound of Music.

Weiler is represented by talent agent Sav Murthy through the Noble Coplan Talent Agency. When Disney’s Frozen was announced at The Grand, Weiler was very excited for the chance to audition. Thanks to her previous performance at the Grand, she was able to keep calm as she knew many people in the room. Weiler received a call-back with all the other called-back Elsas and Annas. In groups, they had to perform a whole scene and execute the songs.

About a week later, Weiler’s parents gave her a present saying they wanted to express how good she was doing at a new school. What they gave her was an Elsa doll, and that is how Weiler found out she got the role. They found out at the end of September and rehearsals started on Nov. 4.

It was a hectic schedule with rehearsals taking place every day except Mondays, from either 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 3-6 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Once rehearsals finished, the cast started preforming with bare-minimum props leading up to tech week. At that point, they started performing on the stage with the real sets, perfecting technical aspects like lighting, sound and special effects that include quick costume changes.

The cast has become like a family after spending so much time together.

“What I like best about performing is that you get to see things that take place behind the scenes that the audience doesn’t get to see and how it all comes together,” Weiler said. “It is great to see the difference from the start to when it all starts to run smoothly.

“There is something so magical about having a room full of people cheering for you at the end”.

The show started at the Grand on Nov. 18 and, due to popular demand, it has already been extended to Jan. 4. Weiler shares the role of young Elsa with actress Kylie Prouty. It is double cast to keep the schedule manageable for the students. Weiler is part of the Reindeer Cast.

What’s next for Weiler? She just likes going with the flow and if there is a musical theatre audition that comes up that she really wants, then she will go for it and has no problem with travelling.

“Everyone should definitely come to the show. It is so good, and you won’t regret it,” Weiler said.