Skip to main content
4th Wall Dramaturgy
2013 - 2014 Season

Meet the Cast - Becca Petersen as Clara Johnson

By Kristen Leinbach,
October 08, 2013 12:00 AM

By Kristen Leinbach, Dramaturg

When asked about writing The Light in the Piazza and about the relationships of the characters, Craig Lucas said the following

“Clara apprehends the world differently than her mother. [Margaret] goes through Italy with a guidebook. But the girl sees experiences, she sees the light in the piazza. She literally experiences the light as representative of her deepest feelings…That’s why the score has moments where words no longer suffice or are no longer important. It’s the feeling and light. Those things carry us. Human beings are just a conduit for love. I think Clara sees that. Love comes before her and after her.”

I asked Becca Petersen, portraying Clara Johnson, to share a little about her life as well as her experience getting to really know Clara.

“I am Becca Petersen from Carmel, Indiana. I am a senior studying Music Dance Theatre. I will be graduating in April with plans of moving to New York City! At BYU I have performed in PETER PAN as well as two years in the Young Ambassadors traveling to Southern Africa and China. These past two summers I have performed professionally at The Muny and Music Theatre of Wichita. Aside from musical theatre I love to go thrift shopping, take naps, eat out, and spend time with my friends and family.

Clara Johnson has always been one of my dream roles and I could not be more excited and grateful to have the opportunity to play her.

The Light in the Piazza follows Clara and her mother, Margaret, as they travel through Italy. Clara is a very youthful girl who lives life exactly in the moment. She is bright-eyed as she sees and experiences this new place for the first time. The plot is centered around relationships: Clara’s relationship with her mother and her new budding relationship with a Florentine boy, Fabrizio. I feel that I connect with Clara on many levels. I love to travel, explore, and see new places. Because of previous travel opportunities I have had I understand what it is like experiencing different cultures and having to figure out how you fit in. In the show many of the characters, including Clara, go through big life transitions. Currently I can relate as I am getting ready to graduate, preparing to move to NY, having family members and close friends get married, and trying to understand love and relationships of my own. All of these experiences can be scary but can also be incredible if we let ourselves learn, grow, and live in them. We must allow ourselves to find the happiness and joy in all things we experience. In essence, that is what Clara does. Clara finds what makes her happy.”

Tags
Light In The Piazza

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"
2016-2017 Season

The Magic In Imagination

January 20, 2017 09:32 AM
by Ting Chun Chang, dramaturg Mary Poppins snapped her fingers again, ready to “educate” the kids! In the world of Mary Poppins we see magic everywhere, However, how to show that magic is a crucial key for the design team. As it is the number one topic we have been talking about in the production meetings, before the show starts, I would like to give a you broad sense of how each designer has chosen to dive into this magic world. At the beginning of the process, we created a magic moment list. This was a guide for the production team. We talked about the magical moments in other productions, movies and how these moments were done. In the meantime, the designers figured out who would be in charge of each moment. For example, we choose to let our projection effects designer, Ben Unguren, explore some images that could be done through projector, such as the instantaneous changes in the nursery and creating the colors in the park. Costume designer, Rory Scanlon analyzed the relationship between the characters in the family and the relationship between Mary and Mr. Banks and Mary and Bert, and then looked for symbolic ways to reveal things about Mary's character. For example, for him, Mary is the one who bring joy and light to the family. When you watch the show, see if you can you tell how that is shown through the costuming.
2 Min Read
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
2016-2017 Season

What is BYU Young Company?

January 13, 2017 11:52 AM
by Jessa Cunningham, dramaturg
1 Min Read
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Test

The True Mary Poppins?

December 05, 2016 12:00 AM
by Ting Chun Chang, dramaturg Some of you are probably already very familiar with the movie Mary Poppins, but have not watched the musical. Others may have watched the movie and the musical, but not yet read the novel. Last time, we have explored some comparisons between the three different forms of the story and talked a little bit about the characters. This week, I would like to share with you more about the character Mary Poppins in the novel and in the musical. In 2013, the Disney movie Saving Mr, Banks was released. It depicts the relationship between P.L. Travers and Walt Disney. It also gives the audience some background understanding of Travers' childhood experience. It is said that her childhood experiences influenced her work on Mary Poppins, the novel, especially in how she portrays Mary Poppins. If you've read the book, you'll know that the character in the book is quite different from the movie and the musical. You may even understand why Travers was unhappy with how Mary Poppins was presented in the movie. In the novel, Mary Poppins, is portrayed as a grim, ugly old woman who denies she is magical but, at the same time, does not try to hide it. She is known by other magical creatures as “The Great Exception” because she maintained the magical abilities all children have. For example, she is capable of communicating with animals. When the children mention her magical powers, Mary Poppins denies them sternly and punishes the children when they acknowledge them. In the movie and the musical, Mary Poppins is an elegant lady. Portrayed in a much more delightful way, Mary Poppins is always trying to uplift people and find fun in doing work. For example, she always tell the children "anything could happen if you let it." She uses magic to clean the nursery and kitchen. She uses "a spoonful of sugar" to help the medicine go down. She sings happily with Bert. Her personality is well described in "Jolly Holiday" sang by Bert. Ain’t it a glorious day? Right as a morning in May… I feel like I could fly. Have you ever seen the grass so green or a bluer sky? Oh it’s a jolly holiday with Mary. Mary makes your heart so light. When the day is grey and ordinary, Mary makes the sun shine bright. Oh happiness is blooming all around her. The daffodils are smiling at the dove. When Mary holds your hand, you feel so grand. Your heart starts beating like a big brass band. Oh it’s a Jolly Holiday with Mary. No wonder that it’s Mary that we like. Many people believe that P.L. Travers’ great aunt Ellie, whose real name was Morehead, inspired the character of Mary Poppins. Valerie Lawson, the author of Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P. L. Travers wrote that: Ellie was a martinet, carried a carpetbag and when children came to stay, she gave them lessons in etiquette, suffered no nonsense and instructed them to “Spit spot into bed!” Mary Poppins carried a carpetbag just like Aunt Ellie’s but the nanny’s bag became a magical carry-all that contained an apron, a packet of hairpins, a bottle of scent, a small folding armchair, a packet of throat lozenges, a large bottle of dark red medicine, seven flannel nightgowns, one pair of boots, a set of dominoes, two bathing caps, one postcard album, one folding camp bedstead, blankets and an eiderdown. I do too believe Mary Poppins is the expanding imagination based on Travers' interaction with her aunt Ellie. In fact, the whole story is based on her childhood experiences. Would it be better if we were true to her memory when producing Mary Poppins or is it more interesting to create the Mary Poppins of our own imagination? For me, there is no certain answer. But it is an important question for us to navigate as we read about and watch this magical character.
3 Min Read
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
Previous Next