When she’s not leading as student body co-president, Mary Cate Pugh ‘23 can be found on weekdays after school preparing for the upcoming spring musical. This is Pugh’s first year involved in theater, and she is set to play the eccentric dynamo Rosie in the upcoming production of Mamma Mia. 

“I’ve always wanted to get involved with theater, but I’ve never been able to because I usually do track and I do cross country in the fall. So for my senior year I decided to do something new,” Pugh said. 

As it was her first time trying out for a City High production, Pugh went into the audition with an open mind.

“I didn’t really know what to do going into it,” Pugh said. “So I [was fine with] any role, whether it be ensemble or a principal role.”

Although this is Pugh’s first time in a City High production, she has experience from her years performing in show choir at City High.

“With singing and dancing, I know how to learn those things,” Pugh said. “But the most difficult part has been actually figuring out the acting part.”

However, no matter the difficulty that acting has caused her, Pugh is glad that she has a support system backing her.

“[Acting] is kind of like a foreign art to me, but I’ve had a lot of help from Darby and other crew members,” Pugh said. “So I think I’m getting the hang of it.”

Even so, learning to play the role of the fanatical Rose has been a fun experience for Pugh.

“I find it easy to just have fun with the role,” Pugh said. “[I know] not to take it too seriously because [Rosie] is really just there to have fun.”

Throughout her work practicing for the musical, Pugh feels like she’s bonded a lot with her fellow cast members.

“It’s just super fun to get into our roles and we all work super well together so it makes the rehearsals really stress free and I look forward to them,” Pugh said.

Even with the stress that preparing for the musical can cause, Pugh feels like the members of the cast and crew are there for each other.

“I think we’ll be able to support each other and just kind of focus on getting our work done, and try not to put too much weight on making it perfect, just trying to do our best,” Pugh said.

As to what she’s looking forward to about the musical, Pugh is excited to put on a great performance before she graduates.

“I know a lot of people are looking forward to the musical this year,” Pugh said. “Just kind of having one last hurrah before graduation.”

Pugh hopes that Mamma Mia can be a performance that everyone can be proud of.

“I’m looking forward to putting on a show that everybody kind of knows,” Pugh said. “Some people might know the characters and so [I want to] put on a show that everybody can enjoy.”