Playing Sally Bowles

One of the biggest perks of being in theatre is that I get to pretend to be someone else on a regular basis, and it's considered completely acceptable! I get to do things that I would never do in real life without being judged. I get to dress up and do ridiculous makeup. Before our first dress rehearsal, when I was getting into costume for the first time, I had a serious moment when I put my wig on. Being in full makeup, it was a transformation. I was no longer Emma Clark. I was Sally Bowles. Believe it or not, it's incredibly freeing.



Playing Sally Bowles in "Cabaret" was no different. She is a totally different person than myself. For one thing, she's English. She sells her body in a night club, drinks constantly, does drugs, and flits through life, not caring how her actions affects her long-term. She lives by the seat of her pants and consciously pays no attention to the world around her. Needless to say, I'm not much like her.

Or so I thought...



What was so amazing about this role was even though we are clearly so different, I was still able to find things we have in common. The fact is that, even though she's an awful person, she's still human. There were still levels on which I understand her and connect to her. Even though she's brash and unrefined on the outside, she's still vulnerable, feminine and emotional. Finding that common ground between us is really what enabled me to dig so deep into her character. Getting that connected is what ultimately gave me the ability to immerse myself deep enough to feel her pain myself. There were a few nights where it would hit me so hard that I would cry on stage. It was a beautiful, fulfilling feeling to be so utterly connected to her, this person that I thought I would never completely understand.



Playing Sally taught me so much. I grew as a performer and learned that I can push my limits and challenge my boundaries. In fact, I have no boundaries! The experience once again confirmed what I have known for so much of my life: I love being an actress. It is my passion, and I would never be as happy doing anything else.

Not to mention, I absolutely loved wearing that wig ;)

CABARET: The Reason I've Been Away

WOW! I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted something on my blog. I sincerely apologize to anybody who visited recently. I hope that I will never leave it vacant for that long ever again.







It has been an insane couple of months, mostly due to the fact that I was playing Sally Bowles in the show "Cabaret" at Cleveland State University. It was the most amazing experience I've ever had in the theatre. I adored playing that role and got to work with the most marvelous people. We had an incredible cast and the most wonderful directors. I danced, I sang, I acted, learning a ton about my field.







I'm extremely sad that it is over. It was by far the most enjoyable show I have ever been a part of. I know that I could've done that show on the long run. I also know, though, that I can walk away from it being completely happy with my work, knowing that I did my absolute best, and having made many new friends.

I am one step closer to my future career! Huzzah!

***Photos courtesy of Steve Wagner***

Broadway Bound

It's still Blogtember, but I think I'm going to start shying away from actually detracting from my posts with that fact (after this time, I promise). I'll continue to insert the button at the bottoms of my posts and you should all still check it out, but I think I'm just going to write on the prompts instead.

Day 6 Prompt: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.

I mulled over this for a while, thinking about the times when I literally felt my life take a shift. There have been a couple, but I think the biggest one happened when I was in sixth grade. I touched on this lightly in my "Where I Come From" post, but I want to delve into it a tad more.

When I was in sixth grade, the big girls at my dance studio were opening the summer recital with "One" from A Chorus Line, complete with the amazing original choreography. It also just so happened that this particular musical was playing at the Carousel Dinner Theater in Akron, which no longer exists (the theater, not the city). After some persuasion, my best friend and I managed to convince our parents to take us to see it. It was me, my bestie, my mom, her mom, and my cousin. Looking back, it probably wasn't the most appropriate musical for two sixth graders and a fourth grader...

Photo by Paul Kolnik

Those actors mesmerized me. I was entranced by how they moved, the words they spoke, how they embraced the characters, and how they drew me in. Then there was the dancing. I about died, I was so enthralled with the whole thing. It was in that moment that I knew that I had to be one of them some day. I had to get on that stage and perform and be an actress. The rest is history (in the making)! From that point on, I was obsessed. I got serious about my dancing, I did way more acting, saw more shows, did my research, signed up for master classes and eventually started vocal lessons. I participated in my high school drama club, community theatre, and continued to advance in my dancing. Now, ten years later, I'm attending Cleveland State University for theatre performance and I'm a talent scholarship student. We work closely with many acting companies in Cleveland and we are in residence with The Cleveland Playhouse and Groundworks Dance Theatre, not to mention we have state-of-the-art facilities for rehearsal and performance at Playhouse Square. I am so blessed and amazed at these opportunities.

The best part is, I know I'm headed for greatness. That one moment when I was only eleven, and I knew that I was going to make something awesome from my life on the stage. This is only the beginning, that's the best part.