From the time I was in sixth grade until senior year of high school, I was a theatre kid.
It started on a whim in sixth grade when I acted in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” The cast for this show was spectacular, and to this day, I consider it the best musical I was a part of.
In this show, I was a part of the ensemble, and at the time, this was more than enough. More specifically, I played an Ishmaelite, a wife and an Egyptian, as well as being a part of the general ensemble. Never let anyone tell you that ensemble is unimportant or being nameless means you don’t matter.
Ensemble matters. Let me repeat that. THE ENSEMBLE MATTERS!!
In seventh grade, I was a part of “Beauty and the Beast.” I was still in ensemble, but I started having more duos and solos in this show.
I played a townswoman and a saltshaker. I LOVED being a saltshaker and I even got to do a duo dance for this role!
The summer before eighth grade, I went to a day camp and acted in Shrek Jr., which taught me about acting with a larger cast and having to work alongside those who have the roles that you tried out for. This was a tough experience for me, and I wish I would’ve known at the time that acting would become fun again, and that this one bad experience didn’t have to end my acting career.
In eighth grade, I finally had a set named role. I was Thing 2 in “Seussical.”
This role kicked off my desire to work hard and show the directors that I was worthy of a “good” role.
In Seussical, I learned how to partner cartwheel, something that I didn’t know my 13-year-old body could do. I continue to be impressed with younger me for my bravery to trust not only the base who held me up, but also for my own ability to say yes.
In ninth and tenth grade (because of the pandemic, we attempted to perform it twice), I acted in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
This was my first real speaking and singing role. I was the Rabbi, which meant that I had to act wise, which is not to say that I didn’t have some great quips.
The one that continues to stick with me now is, “May God bless and keep the tzar…far away from us!” I remember working tirelessly to master this line and each time, I tried something new, which was a technique that I never had been allowed before.
Junior year of high school marked our first play. We put on “Almost Maine”, which taught me how to improvise and not get scared when a scene partner forgets a line or two.
At the time, I was fuming that we weren’t doing a musical for my junior year, but I should’ve been more appreciative that I had two great roles and two scenes that were just duos. It was such an honor to have two 10-minute scenes that I could grow with in each rehearsal.
Senior year marked my favorite role I’ve held. My high school put on “The Sound of Music” and I played Elsa Schraeder.
I worked week after week to master an uptight and proper accent for the role. My warmup line each day was, “Georg, those mountains, they’re magnificent!”
While it was a legitimate line from the show, having a line of my own to practice and get me into character meant that I was an important member of the cast. I was becoming confident in the character, which taught me that practicing who I wanted to be really did work. The confidence that I had during that show made me realize that I, too, could be confident and carefree.
Last week I went to my high school to visit and attend a musical practice. While it was relieving to no longer worry about being off book or remembering blocking, I did miss being on stage. Acting was a major part of who I was for almost seven years, and I loved the people that came with it and the techniques that I learned.
The theatre kid in me has not left, and she has instead taken a short break until the next opportunity comes up.