I caught the acting bug at the impressionable age of two. The very first role I received was in a musical called "The Jungle Book" and I was playing the protagonist: Mowgli. Now, for those of you thinking "isn't Mowgli played by a boy?". You would be right, but alas this was an after school program and there weren't many young boys to pick from so they chose me, a girl. I, however, could not have been more thrilled and still look back on those few months of rehearsal with much fondness. Because, dear reader, this is where I started to blur the lines of gender roles and stereotypes.
I had always been fascinated with the premise of girls playing boy characters. It inspired me when I was younger and, because of my experience with playing boy characters, I knew it was possible! I would go on to play many daring and exciting roles. One show I was a young girl chasing after her toy nutcracker in a land of wonder, in another I was a snobby townswoman gossiping about a musician and his librarian girlfriend. Although these roles were wonderful, I was itching to try something new. I wanted to feel that same excitement I had felt when I had played a boy. Where the audience was not only intrigued by the idea of me playing a boy but having no doubt about me being that character. I wanted to leave the audience stunned and wanting more of my character and what I had to offer. I wasn't doing any of this with the roles I was receiving, until my Junior year of high school.
That year, my school put on a musical called "Willy Wonka". I had heard the story numerous times and had grown up with actors like Johnny Depp and Gene Wilder portraying the iconic character. This show would be something big, and although I was already in another show at the time, I just knew I had to audition. On audition day, I rehearsed my song and monologue numerous times and was feeling fairly confident going in, but ultimately was a little nervous. When I filled out the form with my personal information I stopped. One of the questions on the form had caught my eye.
"If you could be any character, which one would you be?"
In all of my years of trying out for musicals and plays I had never had to answer this question to, who would be, my future director. I did have an answer though. With a steady hand I carefully wrote out the name "Willy Wonka :)".
When I got the news that I had been cast as Willy Wonka I was ecstatic! I was the happiest person in the entire world for the rest of the day. I studied and practiced as much as I could and enjoyed meeting people that I hadn't known before. The amazing thing about theatre is that it can bring people together and help them to become lifelong friends. I was so happy to be working with these amazing people and to tell such an amazing story. So happy in fact that I carried that happiness with me until my final night on that stage. I had worked so hard to bring that beloved character to life and when I walked out on that stage, it was almost like magic. I had accomplished what I had set out to do, and I couldn't have been more proud. I went on to win awards for my performances, one from the South Florida High School Awards show, Cappies, for "Excellence in High School Theatre" and several others from my school. Willy Wonka had been just the beginning and I can proudly say that I finished my high school theatre career with a big bang as the Storyteller from "Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure". Everything works out and, if you walk away from this story with one lesson, I hope it is this: "Take your dreams and grab them by the horn, they may not take you to where you want to go straight away, but the journey to get there is well worth it".