Aspiring musical theatre actor Brittany Harbour has had the role of Belle from Beauty and the Beast on her performance bucket list since childhood.
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When the curtain opens on BLOC's production of Beauty and the Beast on Saturday afternoon, after six months of rehearsals, she can tick it off her list.
Ms Harbour is one of 78 cast members in the production, which includes 36 children who alternate performances.
Countless hours of preparation and rehearsal have gone in before the opening performance from not just the cast, but the crew.
The cast auditioned for roles in November and full rehearsals began in January.
In the early days there were two nights of rehearsals a week plus Sunday afternoons, about six to 10 hours a week. In the past month that has ramped up to three nights a week and all day Sunday, or about 16 hours of rehearsal time.
And in the past week the company has rehearsed every day, including full dress rehearsals, to fine tune the on and off-stage action.
There are 320 costumes in the show, which have been sewn since November, and numerous costume changes during each performance.
"The rehearsal isn't just about what happens on stage. We need to make sure all the costume, hair and make-up changes happen in a short time frame in a really tiny place," said BLOC marketing coordinator Carly Macdonald.
Unlike some productions, the story and songs of Beauty and the Beast were already familiar to most of the cast.
"Our principals are of an age where they grew up on the original Disney movie and have known the songs all their lives," Ms Macdonald said.
"Brittany has said a number of times that one of the roles on her bucket list was to play Belle."
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Saturday's opening night is a fundraiser and gala event for Ballarat Hospice, and children attending a Camp Quality camp will see the show on July 5 then meet Belle and other cast members during a meet and greet.
Beauty and the Beast runs for 10 shows at Wendouree Centre for Performing arts from June 29 to July 7. Tickets $24 to $45 from blocmusictheatre.com.
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