Taya Kornelson, second from right, plays Anna in St. Mary's School production Frozen Jr. There are two shows this weekend at the Esplanade.(Photo Courtesy Bob Schneider)

By Chris Brown

Dream roles: St. Mary’s students excited for debuts as Anna and Elsa in Frozen Jr.

Mar 8, 2023 | 4:47 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Disney movies are a big and beloved part of many childhoods. Taya Kornelson and Ocianna Spisak are two major Disney fans who this weekend will live out dreams their younger selves probably couldn’t have imagined.

The pair are playing principal roles in the St. Mary’s School production of Frozen Jr. Kornelson plays Anna and Spisak plays Elsa.

“I have seen the movie more than once, I was obsessed with it in Grade 1,” Kornelson says before rehearsal. “It’s been a really interesting opportunity and something that like younger me would have dreamed of doing. So it’s been an amazing opportunity.”

Having seen the movie as often as she has, Kornelson could easily perform Anna just as she is in the animated film and the audience would be captivated and comforted by the familiar.

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But she believes a performer should project a piece of themselves through the character so the audience see a little of both.

The Grade 9 student says that’s a bit of a challenge but her natural demeanor plays well with the character

“It’s been fairly straight forward because like Anna I’m a very bubbly character, person,” she says.

With close to 50 students involved roles have been double cast. Spisak performs in the other cast, separate from Kornelson.

The Grade 8 student is well-versed in the film version of Frozen.

“100 per cent, 100 per cent,” she says. “I used to dress up as it all the time. I was like running around singing the songs with my mom.”

Both say they’ve enjoyed the experience of putting the show together and have thrived with the guidance of director Kayla Lukacs and the other directors.

She’s worked with all the performers to stay true to the film and make each performance stand out on their own merits.

“You want to keep some of those those tendencies that everybody knows and loves but then also playing to strengths of the kids and using their their natural talents and abilities and showcasing them,” she explains.

“I used to dress up as it all the time. I was like running around singing the songs with my mom.” _{–Ocianna Spisak, who plays Elsa}

Lukacs has been waiting three years to bring Frozen to the stage, after it was cancelled at the beginning of the pandemic.

Now that it’s almost here the excitement is in her and all around her.

“It looks great, the kids are so excited which makes us really excited,’ she says. “I mean there’s a huge creative team not just the kids there’s a whole bunch of staff members involved and everybody’s excited and it looks great.”

Kornelson sums up the St. Mary’s show this way: “You should come to the show because it’s amazing.”

There are two showings of Frozen Jr., one Friday at 7 p.m. and another Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Esplanade. Tickets are still available for both shows.