Lydia Ricks & Mindy Smoot Robbins starred as Matilda and Miss Honey in our 2018 production of Matilda. This year they are back together again as Annie and Grace Farrell in our Annie production.
Lydia answered these questions about Mindy
What is one of your favorite things about performing with Mindy again?
She is so supportive of any ideas that I have for my character. She is the kind of person who helps others around her and is always helping supporting and encouraging me.
What is one thing Mindy has taught you?
To love your mistakes and incorporate them into your performance.
What is your favorite thing about Mindy?
She is one of the kindest people. Her goal is to always help everyone around her. And I look up to her both on and off stage.
What is one funny thing about your relationship with Mindy?
Since Matilda we always talk about what if something goes wrong what will we do. Also, she is trying to help me learn to like leafy greens?
She really is a second mom to me when I am performing. I could have never imagined that we would get the chance to perform together again at Tuacahn in similar lead/principal roles.
Mindy had this to say about Lydia
Lydia and I formed a beautiful bond beginning during the rehearsals for Matilda in 2018. She went through a difficult trial during the rehearsal process and I was able to take her under my wing. She is resilient and rose above her circumstance with courage, faith and resolve, remarkable for a then 11-year-old little girl.
In 2018, Lydia joined Utah COPA at Tuacahn to continue her training in musical theatre. I am an owner of COPA and continue to have many opportunities to work with Lydia in her talent development. Lydia is full of light. She is a joy to work with and incredibly teachable. She is wise beyond her years. She is amazingly talented and yet never acts arrogant around the other children. She is a great listener on and off the stage. We have become dear friends.
If I can help Lydia grow in any way this season, it will be to encourage her to leave her mistakes behind. We are both perfectionists, which makes this difficult for us to do. If Lydia makes a mistake in the show she comes off stage with a little disappointment in her eyes and worry in her heart. Of course she does! She is 14 years old and wants to do the show flawlessly every time. I wrap my arms around her and remind her the audience knows we are human. Humans make mistakes, and those mistakes make us even more human and endearing. Live theatre isn’t about perfection. It is meant to portray real life and real life is full of mistakes. We will never be perfect.
I would take Lydia as my own if her parents would let me, but I have a feeling they want to keep her. 🙂 I have loved telling these two beautiful stories with her. She has a bright future ahead and I am privileged to be a small part of her story.
Tickets to Annie are available now through July 10.