The huge undertaking of commitment and dedication during rehearsals paid off for the cast performing Les Misérables on Oct. 13, at the Chestermere Public Library.
“All of it went well, we all had a bit of nervous energy going into it,” said Leslie Dilts who performed as a Revolutionary in the Ensemble.
Dilts, who has experience performing in front of crowds at senior homes and the Mustard Seed, as part of the Chestermere Sound Waves Choir group, said this was her very first time partaking in a dramatic performance.
The organizers of the Do You Hear The People Sing? event went to the Chestermere Sound Waves Choir and asked if the group would be interested in joining the Ensemble portion of the show.
“There wasn’t very many of us who could make the commitment,” Dilts said.
She added, there were six Chestermere Sound Waves performing in the Ensemble to approximately 40 people on Saturday night.
When performing, the Chestermere Sounds Waves use music sheets to refer back to, so Dilts was worried about memorizing the lines to Les Misérables.
“We all did just fine. If you miss something someone else has got it,” She said.
“A lot of us haven’t had that kind of experience so to just get up and do it and then realize that we remembered our lines, and everything came together,” Dilts added.
From what Dilts could tell while she was on stage performing is that the entire performance of Les Misérables went the way the cast and director expected.
“I wouldn’t do anything different, I’ve met a bunch of new people, I’ve had a lot of fun. It was a really tight schedule in a very short period of time so that was challenging,” Dilts said.
She added, “I don’t know if you would do it any better if you added a month on.
“It was a really short time period, we felt like we were scrambling but it just all came together.”
The Chestermere Public Library staff and the Les Misérables show Director made Dilts and her co-stars feel comfortable and at ease by keeping everyone updated about what was going on throughout the performance.
For Dilts sharing the story with the community and getting to see her friends and family in the crowd was a really special thing.
“It’s great to share, and volunteer, it’s a great thing,” Dilts added, “I thought it was a fabulous evening.
