Imagine being in an unfamiliar town and living in a dorm style building for the holidays. This is the case for the majority of the cast members of White Christmas, with a half dozen cast members who call New York City home, while others hail from Canada, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
At the Mill Mountain Theatre Atelier on Thanksgiving Day more than a dozen area volunteers lent a helping hand to prepare a holiday feast for the White Christmas cast members – many of whom took part in the Drumstick Dash prior to their Thanksgiving celebration. This “day off” was book-ended by vigorous rehearsals that took place on Wednesday, Friday and throughout the holiday weekend in preparation for the performances.
White Christmas choreographer / director and former Rockette, Eileen Grace, was joined by her husband and her seven-year-old twins, as they traveled from Pittsburgh to Roanoke to take part in the special Thanksgiving Day gathering.
Grace directed and staged the Radio City Christmas Spectacular touring productions for nine years and her choreography credits include more than 40 musicals. Her television credits include the Grammy Awards, the Tony Awards, One Life to Live, the Today Show, Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, the Kennedy Center Honors, the Late Show with David Letterman, and Oprah.
Several local students will be featured in the upcoming production of “White Christmas.” These include: Caitlin Carter, a junior at Cave Spring High School; Olivia Goodman, an eighth grader at Central Academy Middle School in Fincastle, VA; and Mason Peters, a student at Parkway Christian Academy.
“White Christmas” cast members Madeleine Corliss, Jillian Hannah, Jorie Janeway, and Nick Jones will remain in Roanoke to perform in the Holiday Music show scheduled for December 20 and 21. This will conclude the 2016 season for Mill Mountain Theatre.
Many of the professional actors bring some very unique skill sets and experiences as they reside in the “Star City” while performing at MMT. One example includes Georgia native, Pytron Parker. As she seeks professional jobs, she touts that her special skills include: roller skating, basketball, carpentry, badminton, GoGo dancing, belly dancing, rope jumping, stomping, hula hooping, character voicing, and whistling.
Another cast member, Katharine Gentsch, is also known as “Captain Kat”. She is a NASM-certified, New York City based personal trainer and founder of Captain Kat Fitness. She developed a program called “The Better Body Challenge or Fitness for Busy People,” a monthly can-be-done anywhere fitness and wellness program.
Two employees of Mill Mountain Theatre are also in the cast of “White Christmas.” Travis Kendrick recently relocated from California to Roanoke to become the education associate with the Mill Mountain Theatre Conservatory. Jillian Hannah, a Canada native, just made Roanoke her home and became a teaching artist for the Mill Mountain Theatre Conservatory after participating in a Summer Apprenticeship hosted by the theatre.
