Take heart, some day your prince will come is the message in the classic fairytale, Cinderella.However the message for two of the pantomime’s budding actors might be some day your pantomime will come.As children, Katie Witkowski and Dion Ming dreamed of one day taking the spotlight in the annual Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society Christmas pantomime. They longed for the bright lights, the outrageous costumes, and the backstage camaraderie. (Oh yes, they did!).This year, both finally got their wish as they perform in leading roles in the BMDS production of ‘Cinderella’. Miss Witkowski will play Cinderella, and Mr Ming will play Buttons, the Baron’s assistant. The Royal Gazette recently met with the pair during an evening rehearsal at City Hall.For Katie Witkowski, the hardest part in playing the role of Cinderella is keeping a straight face around her ugly stepsisters.The 16-year-old Saltus Grammar School student takes to the stage tomorrow in the upcoming Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society (BMDS) pantomime.Jenny Burrell-Jones is director; Prince Charming will be played by Matthew Wedlich and the role of Buttons will be played by Dion Ming. The pantomime has original music written by James Burn.“They [the stepsisters] are very funny, and it is very hard not to laugh sometimes,” said Miss Witkowski. “But you have to keep a straight face and stay in character.”The audience might also have a hard time keeping a straight face this year, as Cinderella comes packed with a double dose of dames. In this classic rags-to-royalty tale of sibling rivalry, old favourite Kelvin Hastings-Smith and pantomime newcomer Phillip Jones, will play the ugly stepsisters.“I have dreamed of being in the pantomime since I was little,” said Miss Witkowski. “It was the closest you could get to being a princess. I was in Sleeping Beauty a few years back. I was a little fairy and I always wanted to be a princess in the pantomime.”Cinderella was one of her favourite movies as a little girl. Now she hopes to bring something special to one of the most popular fairy tale characters. She and other members of the pantomime cast recently took part in the Marketplace Santa Claus parade. She was overjoyed by the reaction from the children. Little girls were screaming “Cinderella”, and some told her that they had her picture on their pillow.“I think the appeal is the fact that Cinderella was nobody and she just had something about her that made the prince attracted to her,” said Miss Witkowski. “It gives hope to anyone that they will find their Prince Charming. She didn’t let what other people said about her get in the way of doing what she wanted.”Miss Witkowski found auditioning for the role a little scary, as it was her first time trying out for a lead character in the pantomime. She competed against many of her own friends, who were also very good. One of the things that probably helped her land Cinderella was the fact that she has taken voice lessons for almost four years.“The singing in the pantomime is challenging,” she said. “It is a lot of pressure to be the princess in the pantomime. It is just about keeping it together and keeping calm. I have done all of the Gilbert and Sullivan shows they have done for the past couple of years but this is the first time I have had a lead role. The secret [to the singing] is your breathing, more than anything, and your diaphragm and making sure that everything is tense and rock solid so it really helps push the sound out.”She first became interested in acting when she was little. She and her older brother, Matthew enjoyed dressing up and putting on skits for their parents. They were also frequently taken to the theatre.“I would love to go into acting when I graduate from school,” said Miss Witkowski. “I want it to be part of my life, somehow. I would love to keep acting the rest of my life, if possible.”Dion Ming’s character Buttons thinks Cinderella should forget all about Prince Charming and fall in love with him instead. Alas, that’s not the way the fairytale goes. Women prefer men with fancy carriages.“Buttons is a servant to Baron Hardup [played by Jym Brier] and he is madly in love with Cinderella,” said Mr Ming, 29. “He is madly in love with Cinderella, but the prince steals her heart.”Mr Ming auditioned for the role of Buttons a few years ago when BMDS produced Cinderella, and won a role in the chorus. He is now a professionally trained actor. He received scholarships from BMDS and the G&S Society to study acting at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York in 2008, and music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.He has found it impossible to make a living as a professional actor in Bermuda. He instead works at clothing store The Edge, and has a part-time waiter job at Pickled Onion.Mr Ming said the hardest thing about being in Cinderella was learning “lines, lines, and more lines”. He said the rehearsal schedule for the pantomime has been fairly rigorous.“We have had to rehearse for this a lot,” he said. “We started with practising on the weekends, but for the past couple of weeks it has been maybe five nights out of the week. It is usually after work hours, after 5pm. But it is fun and exciting. We did the MarketPlace parade and just to see the children smile, that just brought my character to life. I hope to embody the character of Buttons who is a perky, full of life character.”He has loved acting since he was five.“It has been a long time,” he said. “My first experience with theatre was at about eight or nine years old. I worked with Gina Spence Productions. That is when I first knew I loved theatre and the stage.”Mr Ming hopes to eventually save up enough money to go to London, England to pursue a full-time career in acting. He is interested in working in plays, movies or television. He would also delight in a soap opera role.“I was introduced to the soap opera ‘Young and the Restless’ when I was in primary school,” he said. “My grandmother would watch it every afternoon. Every afternoon was ‘Price Is Right’ and then ‘Young and the Restless’. I would like to be on a soap opera.”He also loves to sing and has performed all over the Island in concerts, and at funerals and weddings. To see videos of Mr Ming performing go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4STzMmVvVo or www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg05TSddd9o .Cinderella opens Thursday at City Hall and runs through December 17. Show time is 7.30pm. There are matinee performances on December 10, 11 and 17 at 3pm. Tickets are $35 and available from www.bmds.bm. For more information e-mail Naomi Little, njoylittle83[AT]hotmail.com, or telephone 333-0766.