Coverstar: Actress Lola Clare Talks About New Role In ‘Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies’

Get your popcorn ready!

Our 2023 Spring coverstar is none other than dancer and actress Lola Clare! She is set to appear in the highly-anticipated Paramount+ series ‘Grease: The Rise Of The Pink Ladies’.

We had the amazing honor of talking with Lola about her favorite Season 1 behind-the-scene story with the cast, her favorite dance genre, and more!

You have been a talented dancer for years! What is your favorite dance genre and why?

L: “I really love all styles of dance and have trained in several different genres,  but if I had to narrow it down I would have to say modern or contemporary dance. In grade 9 I took my first modern class and we began doing modern exams. I have to say I wasn’t super excited about it at first.  However,  after 5 months of working towards exams, I started to notice how much stronger my technique was becoming and that I was much more confident in all my other classes. I started looking forward to my modern class throughout my week and began competing in solos as well.  

Some of my favorite memories of competitive dancing are performing my modern solos and being in my modern class with my friends. In my graduating year, I was chosen to compete my modern solo at a Provincial wide competition and was selected as senior runner up! This was a very big dance milestone for me.“

What are your biggest goals for your dance career?

L: “I have so many goals for my dance career its crazy! I love performing in musical dance numbers, so at some point I would love to perform in a musical or dance in a live performance.  I also have a huge love for teaching and setting choreography. I currently teach at a studio in Vancouver, Canada. I absolutely love my students and love creating routines and story telling. I am very lucky as I have grown up with so many amazing dance mentors, including our Grease choreographer Jamal Sims.  It’s been an absolute dream come true working with him on set. His talent is like no other and watching his visions go from the practice room to on camera was magical. To become a choreographer at his level would be incredible.”

Let’s talk about Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies! What was the filming experience like for?

L: “Filming Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies was probably one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of my life. Grease is the TV show I have booked in a recurring role.  There was so much to learn every day over the 7 months we filmed. We have the most amazing cast and behind the scenes crew.  I can honestly say they all made the experience that much better.  Grease has 31 original songs and 30 musical numbers. Some of the hardest and most fun days on set were when we were filming our musical numbers- sometimes 14 hour days, or all nighters, sometimes in the rain, the hot sun, or even in a stuffy gym. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Those long days are also when I realized that my passion and love for dance was at an all time high. I would do anything to go back to one of those days, hopefully season 2!”

Do you still keep in touch with any of your costars?

L: “Absolutely! Many people I have met through Grease have become some of my favorite people and best friends! We actually have a group chat that we talk on pretty frequently and we make efforts to hang out, go to shows or group dinners.  While our whole cast got along great,  I became especially close with my fellow Soc girls Charlotte Kavanagh, Kallie Hu, and Josette Halpert. The four of us worked together almost everyday for 7 months and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to be with. They taught me so much while on set and we shared so many laughs. They looked out for me like sisters and I feel very grateful to have shared this experience with them.”

5. “Do you have any funny behind-the-scenes stories?”

L: “As a cast we had so much fun together and definitely shared a lot of laughs, but this story is probably my favorite… There was one day on set when we were shooting a big scene that was going to take most of the day to film. We had a very long break, mostly we were just catching up, getting some food and hanging out. But after a while we started getting antsy and began playing a dance memory game.  You make a circle, one person comes up with a dance move and then the person to the right does that move and adds another one.  You keep going around the circle, adding dance moves until someone forgets.”

At one point we were going pretty fast, when it gets to one of our cast members who just joined in and he is like “Hold up!” and wants to go over the moves before his turn. We started going over them with him slowly to make sure he’s got it. Finally, he’s ready and as he starts the first couple moves, he completely splits his costume pants down the center with literally the loudest ripping/crack sound you’ve ever heard! We were falling to our knees,  crying with laughter!! The best part is that we have the whole thing on video. I have probably died of laughter 50 times re-watching it!”

Do you think you have anything in common with your character Pearl?

L: “In some aspects yes! But as a whole definitely not. Pearl is a part of the “Soc” group at Rydell, which means she’s your typical “popular mean girl”. Pearl is in her element when she gets to make a snarky comment about someone and give them a good stank face. The part I have most in common with Pearl is her fashion.  I love fashion and have always admired the 50’s aesthetic.  One of my favorite parts of discovering who Pearl is, is how they dressed me and what colors and costumes I would be put in. It helped me find her overall aesthetic which helped me get into character and turn into Pearl!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAov-PRrVRY

We have to ask: what are some of your favorite musicals besides Grease?

L: “I mean the movie Grease was a staple of my childhood. I have memories of so many rainy summer nights watching Grease in our RV! But I also love Shrek the Musical, Hairspray, Dear Evan Hansen, High School Musical (all three), Hamilton, and Glee to name a few. I love to sing and I continue to do vocal training, along with dance and acting.”

If the series gets picked up for a season two and they asked you to return, would you?

L: “Absolutely, yes! I would be honored and grateful if they asked me to come back for a second season. I would like to give a huge thank you to Annabelle Oakes, executive producer and Alethea Jones,  another producer and director for Grease. They gave me and everyone the chance to learn, create, try new things and maybe fail or create something new and succeed. The environment they made was so warm and welcoming and they made sure we always felt seen and heard. Working with these two incredible females makes me feel so proud to be a part of their team. I would love nothing more than to continue to learn from them and be surrounded by the energy they create on set.”

Where can we follow your amazing journey?

L: “Hopefully on Season 2 of Rise of the Pink Ladies!!  You can also follow me on instagram @lola.clare to see updates about jobs i do and posts about Grease as it comes out.”

Photo Credit: Richie Lubaton Photography

Make sure to watch Lola shine in ‘Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies’, coming to Paramount+ on April 6th!

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene. When not helping her team and working on the monthly issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral Tasty recipe.