Spring Musical Cast Profile: Hannah Hayden and Presley Levasseur
- Step VA, Inc.
- Mar 26
- 3 min read
Fredericksburg, Virginia—It's a big, blue world out there and there are plenty of fish—and other creatures—in the sea. Just like there will be at the STEP VA Inc. version of Disney/Pixar's “Finding Nemo Jr.” STEP VA, the local 501(c)3 nonprofit that empowers people with disabilities and their families through creative expression and sensory exploration is filling the stage with creatures great and small, both sea dwelling and landlubbing. Two of the cast who will be bringing the story to life are Hannah Hayden and Presley Levasseur.
Hayden is returning for her second STEP VA Spring Musical Experience. Having played one of the bird girls last year in “Seussical Jr.,” she enjoyed the experience so much she wanted to return this year.
“I feel like I belong and I enjoy the excitement of the show after all the practices,” she says. “Just seeing what STEP VA has in store for me and being able to work alongside with my buddies.”
Hayden's feelings about rehearsals run the same lines as many of her cast mates. Her favorite things are seeing her friends and “being able to sing and dance while learning new things.” The challenges?
“Sometimes learning the faster pace songs and dances,” she explains, adding that she has a “short attention span,” which can make it hard to retain the more complicated choreography.
This year, she has more to master as well. She auditioned for Pearl—a flapjack octopus that befriends Nemo at the reef school—because, “she's missing a tentacle, just like I'm missing a chromosome. I love it!” She was ultimately double cast as both Peal and Bubbles, a yellow tang Nemo meets in the fish tank in the second half of the show. Playing two roles is a first-time experience for Hayden and one she's embracing.
“[It's] kind of like being two people but in two different scenes,” she explains. “But I am excited!”
Hayden relates to both characters, for different reasons.
“Pearl has one short tentacle and I am missing a chromosome, ”she says, correcting herself about Pearl's disability, before adding that “Bubbles has a bubbly personality and so do I.”
And bubbly she certainly is. Her castmates describe her as “upbeat” and “always happy.” It's not a big surprise that her favorite song in the show is “Go with the Flow.”
Now that Hayden knows what to expect, she says she's most looking forward to performing in front of a live audience.
Levasseur is also no stranger to the STEP VA stage or performing for a live audience. She returns for her fourth Spring Musical Experience, having first been cast as a dancing leopard in STEP VA's performance of Disney's “The Lion King, Kids!” She followed that up by serving as the dance captain for “You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and then taking up the role of “Thing 2” in “Seussical Jr.” last year.
This year, she takes on three roles. The audience will see her first as Sheldon, Nemo's seahorse friend from school who's allergic to water. Following the scenes with the Reef School kids, Levasseur will join Ryan O'Meara and Mackenzie Walker as vacationers running from the sea gulls, and the audience will also see her throughout the show as one of the featured dancers. While it sounds like a lot, it's an opportunity that she's embracing.
“The three roles I play are great for me,” she says. “I like rehearsals because the dances and songs are cool.”
Known within the cast for her strong dance skills, as well as her leadership qualities, Levasseur's favorite song in Disney/Pixar's “Finding Nemo Jr.” is the big opening number, “Big Blue World,” where she'll be able to shine as she sets an example for the newer members of cast.
Because she takes to it all like a duck to water, the audience won't even know that she finds practicing a challenge.
As rehearsals wind down and curtain is looming, Levasseur is excited for the culmination of everyone's hard work.
“I'm looking forward to seeing everyone connecting to their characters in the show,” she says.
Audience members can come see everyone connect with their characters at the show Hayden describes as “a splash!” at Courtland High School, April 12-13 (6 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively).
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available for audience members at the show on Saturday, April 12 (6 p.m.). Tickets are $15 (kids under five are free) and are on sale now. CLICK HERE to purchase.For more information or to donate to STEP VA, visit www.stepva.org.
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STEP VA, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides sensory-based theater and arts programs for individuals with disabilities. Its vision is to transform the world by offering each individual the opportunity to flourish in the community.