A high school student will add another notch to her acting belt by appearing in her first major role in a school play.

Lauren Mendes, 17, will play Donna in the Bermuda High School rendition of Mamma Mia!

The play, which blends musical theatre with the disco group ABBA, is something Lauren feels is perfect for her.

She explained: “I love musicals and I love ABBA’s music, so when I first heard they were doing Mamma Mia!, I freaked out.

“I kind of went in with the mindset of, ‘How can I do my best job to be this character?’ and I think that’s what I carried through in the audition.”

Mamma Mia! follows Sophie, a woman who attempts to find her biological father by inviting three of her mother’s ex-lovers to her wedding.

Lauren explained that Donna, Sophie’s carefree mother, spends the majority of the play coming to terms with their return.

She said: “She’s a train wreck to be honest — she’ll sing a song and start to feel better, but then she realises what position she’s in again and then she sings another song.

“She’s kind of like a grown-up teenager in a sense.”

Lauren said she had been in love with theatre “from the moment I knew what a stage was”.

She explained: “When I was in kindergarten, we did a production of Frosty, the Snowman, and I stole the microphone and sang the entire song. So I guess, from then on, I knew.”

She has performed in school renditions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Honk, and worked as a backstage manager for their version of Shrek.

Lauren is also a frequent chorus member in the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society pantomimes and has appeared in Puss In Boots, Sleeping Beauty and Aladdin.

She said that, although the cast was intimidating, she realised that she was no less talented.

She explained: “They are big and they’re scary and they’re daunting, but they’re still people up there and you can get up there, too.”

Lauren and three fellow cast members will continue their stage presence next month at the Bermuda Festival’s 2nd Annual On Stage Competition.

They will compete as a harmony group called The Struggles.

She said: “We will be singing two songs, but it’s kind of a surprise for the competition.”

Lauren is applying for universities in Canada, which involve auditions for theatre courses.

She hopes to earn a bachelor’s degree in theatre and plans to create her own style of theatre.

She said: “I’ve been told that I have big plans, but I know I have a big support system.”

• Mamma Mia! will premiere on Thursday at 7pm with evening performances continuing until February 2 and matinee performances on February 2 and 3. Tickets can be purchased at boxoffice@bhs.bm or from the BHS website at bhs.bm