When theatre lovers head to the DRCSS this April to take in the school’s production of Momma Mia, they can expect an evening of top-notch entertainment provided by an enthusiastic student cast and crew.
But there will be one cast member on stage whose enthusiasm for performing sits a little above and beyond that of her peers.
Jacobi van Luijn developed a love of performing at an early age after being introduced to the stage by her father Martijn.
“I like being able to be someone else. You get to be someone who’s completely different than from who you are,” van Luijn said, adding she finds a freedom in assuming new characters.
“If you pretend to be someone other than who you are day-to-day, they’re still kind of like a part of you. But when you’re on stage, you can be someone completely different. Someone you would never even think to be.”
van Luijn had in role in the school’s production of Mean Girls last year. This year she takes on the lead role of Donna in Momma Mia this spring.
But her roles are not limited to high school musicals as van Luijn is also a member of Mecca Productions, a performing arts group based in Brandon, which provides training and performance opportunities for those interested in musical theatre.
With the group since 2019, she has been a part of several productions over the years.
“I’ve done Frozen Junior and I’ve done Beauty and the Beast Junior, Lion King Junior. I’ve also done Moana Junior and I’ve done Newsies Junior,” van Luijn said, adding she has grown so much as actor since joining Mecca.
“Tiana and Lisa Vasconcelos, they’re the owners of Mecca and they really helped me. They taught me how to come out of my shell and really showed that I had potential. So they’re the reason I’m performing and I’m successful.”
van Luijn added Jody Janzen from Winnipegosis is another mentor, acting as a singing coach and giving her the technical skills for her singing.
van Luijn is also finding success in solo performance, having recently earned two silver medals at the Brandon Festival of the Arts.
“In my Uptempo Musical Theatre category I did ‘What Bacon Can Do’ from Waitress. In my Movie Musical category I did ‘The Wizard and I’ from Wicked,” van Luijn said, adding she attends other competitions, along with acting and musical camps regularly.
Set to graduate from high school this spring, the success she has enjoyed on stage has van Luijn pursuing a future in performing.
Having already been accepted to the Musical Theatre program at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Que., van Luijn is waiting to hear about her application to Sheridan College.
The Oakville, Ont., school is commonly referred to as the Hogwarts of musical theatre.
“It’s like the best musical theatre program in Canada, pretty much,” van Luijn said, adding with 500 applicants that audition each year, about 10 per cent get admitted.
“I want to go to school for musical theatre and, hopefully, the dream is to be a performer, obviously, but I want to be a teacher. I want to be a drama teacher and a director.”
But van Luijn is not resting on her laurels, and has been rehearsing for Momma Mia with her high school cast mates.
“We’ve been rehearsing since December. We’ve got quite a few kids this year and it’s going really well,” she said.
Based on the 2008 film of the same name, those attending the DRCSS production of Mamma Mia can expect to lose themselves in a captivating story, revolving around her character of Donna.
“She is a mother, a single mother of a daughter who’s getting married. They live on a Greek island, and one day she sees these three guys who come to the island who are potentially her daughter’s dad. She doesn’t know who her daughter’s dad is, but she knows it’s one of these three guys,” van Luijn said.
“So we follow Donna’s journey of coping with this all and making peace with her past.”
Being a part of telling such stories is engrossing for van Luijn and she encourages other young people who are thinking about performing to take the leap.
“Just go at it, it’s so fun. Just audition and just do it. Just be open. It’s one of the most fun things you’ll ever do,” she said.
“You get to build a community and a little family. It’s just so fun.”
The DRCSS production of Mamma Mia runs Apr. 21 to 23.
