Casting Change: Who is Leah Bloom?

Mercedes opened the binder and Sarah swore that she saw it glow for a second. "I'm Mercedes...and I'm the head cheerleader at Lake Point High School," the teen said. It wasn't just what she said though, but how...she sounded confident and upbeat all of the sudden, and her body language had changed to match. "Why don't you get ready to go on?" Bridget suggested to Mercedes. "Wait a minute," Sarah said. "Here's yours," Bridget said. "It's a bit sparse, but it isn't the role, it's the actor, right?" Instead of a binder, it was a thin folder with a single sheet of paper in it. It said, "Leah Bloom. Student at Lake Point High." "We'll flesh it out a bit over time," Bridget told her as she escorted them. "The writers have some ideas...but they want to see how you do just in the background." "But...I'm..." Sarah said, still bewildered by this whole thing.