Angelis Hunt has always been intrigued by theatre.

The Berkeley Institute student, who has been cast in one of the main roles for the upcoming production of The Wizard of Oz, loves telling stories and finding himself through exploring different characters.

The 17-year-old said: “I feel that when I explore different characters, I become more knowledgeable about who I am. I like to look for the contrast between myself and different characters.”

He added: “I also love telling stories. Theatre is definitely a way I can do that, especially musical theatre as I love to sing and dance. It’s just a way to tie it all together and it’s just who I am in a profession, really.”

Angelis, who has worked with Troika Bermuda and starred in school productions and pantomimes, will be playing the part of the Scarecrow in the musical being put on by The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Bermuda.

He said: “The scarecrow is a very interesting character because as much as he wants a brain, he already has it and he is actually one of the smartest ones of the group. So, I have to find a way to play the character without realising how smart I am.”

He also has to be very animated.

Angelis, from Warwick, said: “Because a scarecrow has no limbs and is made of hay, I have to forget how to walk for two seconds.” He added that rehearsals were a lot of fun.

“It’s a new experience getting to work with new people. It’s a lot of different age levels so that’s a lot of fun as well.”

Juggling school work with rehearsals can be a bit problematic but Angelis is managing well.

He said: “Since I am in my last year at Berkeley, it is a lot more work looking at and applying for colleges and universities, so it does become very tiresome.

“I’m going into my third week of school and then we have later practice timing. Now we’re ending between 9pm and 9.45pm, so that has been interesting.

“For my homework, I would have to use the time between school and before practices.”

Angelis explained that he was intrigued by theatre from a young age.

“It’s something I am able to do — I grew up singing and I just wanted to take it a step further. I started acting and I was good at it.

“I guess the ability to use my gift as a whole was very interesting to me and exciting.”

Angelis “definitely” wants to pursue acting and has been looking into schools in the United States.

He said: “I want to study musical theatre and then hopefully just get out there as much as I can and involve myself in the theatrical world.”

The production starts on October 5 and runs through to October 14 at the Earl Cameron Theatre at City Hall, with a total of 11 shows.

For more information, visit www.gands.bm