Industry
Hair the musical
Her most recent work was being cast in Hair the musical in the Playground Theatre. The show took the spectators back to the troublesome and psychedelic times of the US hippies. Ilona thrilled the audience with her convincing portrayal of Crissy, the character Ilona researched inside out and resonated with deeply.
In addition to the thoroughly enjoyable and very riveting experience of performing as an individual, being a truly versatile talent means one needs to be ready for any challenges, roles and responsibilities thrown at you. Whilst having to learn intense choreography and complicated mindboggling harmony lines, the show’s Musical Director Greg Arrowsmith also put Ilona in charge of the entire crew as the Singing Captain. This role consisted of Ilona teaching the class harmony and melody lines, additional rehearsals, making sure that everything sounded correctly, surveying if anyone had any difficulties with their voices, and being responsible of warming up the cast vocally every morning and before any rehearsals/performances.
Sweeney Todd
Ilona has always been a great admirer and devotee to Stephen Sondheim’s work. Being a great genius as a lyricist and songwriter, managing to instantly nail the passions and problems of his characters through deftness, delicacy, and unpredictability of his harmonies, Ilona was very thrilled to find that she was cast in one of Sondheim’s well-known works, Sweeney Todd, which took place in South London Theatre.
As life is always filled with unexpected surprises and open minded “why-not’s”, “how abouts” and “what-if’s”, Ilona was cast to play as a young boy named Tobias Ragg. Due to this being a role for a man, Ilona had to sing everything in the original key which not only challenged her as a singer and performer but also gave her the thrill of her lifetime to do something that is out of the ordinary, giving her much valuable knowledge.
Sister act
In 2019, Ilona was cast in Sister Act, having the great opportunity to perform in The Vaults. Whilst singing very high notes, the musical also required to have a great deal of dancing at the same time. This demanded heap of stamina to get through musical numbers without getting out of breath. But don’t get excited. Ilona is everything but not nun. She was just acting.