Isla Castaneda became somewhat of a myth amongst the Indian Hills’ musical cast: she killed it at callbacks, she was cast as Mrs. Phelps, the supporting-character librarian, and…she gave up the role before rehearsals started. Few people know the real reason she left, or the amount of time she spent on the decision. Read more to find out what really happened.
Q: What role were you cast as in Matilda?
A: I was cast as Mrs. Phelps.
Q: Why did you decide to leave that role?
A: I did an audition at a different theater, but I didn’t know the dates of the show, (because) I didn’t really expect to get it, because I hadn’t acted at the Rep in a long time and it was a bigger production. But the very next day (after Matilda casting), I got a call and they offered me a role. I took a really long time to think about whether or not I was going to take it. Sometimes in theater, you have to decide whether or not you’re going to do a show and which things to prioritize.
Q: What theater is the other show at?
A: Kansas City Repertory theater, they do a Christmas show every year, which I did in 2023 and 2024, but I didn’t do this year. This show is the Wizard of Oz.
Q: What was the timeframe of the two auditions?
A: I was auditioning for Matilda right after I auditioned for the (Wizard of Oz), and the callback was right after the Matilda audition. They were back-to-back.
Q: What skillsets are required for the Wizard of Oz?
A: It depends. For the auditions, you had to go in and prepare the song they gave. They had an audition with musical instruments. I play the guitar, so I auditioned with that, although I don’t really think the kids are going to play instruments, I think that’s just the adults. We also had to do puppetering, since there’s a lot of that in the show. At the callbacks we did one more song and I played the guitar again.
Q: What factors swayed your decision?
A: The KC Rep is doing a show as a partnership with a company that does Broadway shows. That definitely swayed my decision. Additionally, a professional show is like, a very different environment as opposed to a school production. Neither is bad, they’re just different. I talked to Ms. O (Matilda director and IHMS’ performance teacher) a lot. She thought I made a good decision.
Q: Have you made any friends in the Wizard of Oz cast?
A: A lot them I’d already knew, I’m pretty close with them now.
Q: Do you have any friends in Matilda?
A: Yeah, I have a lot of friends in Matilda, and last year, Cinderella was so fun, which is why I auditioned this year.
Q: Will you still be seeing Matilda?
A: Yeah, definitely!
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