In 2006, I took the stage for the first time at my hometown children’s theatre and immediately caught the theatre bug. Fifteen years later, I am in my senior year of college and performing at Nashville Children’s Theatre! One of NCT’s missions is “providing transformational theatrical experiences.” I know personally that children’s theatre provides experiences that can transform. My early experiences are one of the reasons that I am pursuing performing professionally and why it is such an honor to perform with NCT this season.
While I’ll be onstage in the upcoming production of The Lightning Thief, being in the Ensemble and playing Silena, daughter of Aphrodite, I am also the Dance Captain! This means I am the point person for all the movement in the show and get to keep an extra watchful eye on Poseidon busting a move. While you might not remember the Half-Bloods dancing in the book, we will be at NCT.
I am also working as an intern behind the scenes. When deciding what I wanted to contribute and learn during my internship, I thought about what I would have wanted as a child and then I knew… I want to bring all of you with me and this wonderful cast on the journey from taking this show from the page to the stage.
How did I get this amazing opportunity? This year, the Belmont Musical Theatre program is partnering with NCT. The entire cast is made up of Belmont MT students working in a professional setting, some for the first time. It is an environment where learning and growth is encouraged and celebrated.
Rehearsals for The Lightning Thief are in full swing. Music is learned, and the cast are on our feet bringing this whimsical childhood story to life for you to see on the Nashville stage in October.
As someone who read Percy Jackson when they were a kid, I get a little bubbly in my stomach every time Percy (Henry Bedoe) walks out and sings “I didn’t want to be a half-blood.” It is the first line we hear from our hero in the musical, and the same line that opens Rick Riordan’s book. Fans of the book will be on the edge of their seat as they watch the characters they know and love battle it out right in front of them.
Even if you have never heard of the fury fighting teen, you will still want to see this show. It tells a story of an underdog that we all can relate to. Percy has the odds stacked against him, but with the help of his friends and family is able to prevail. That is something we can all take with us- transformational theatre!
I love this story, this cast, and NCT. What is NCT without all the people that aren’t in the rehearsal room? Nothing! That is why I am here to bring each of you into this journey with all of us. Get ready to hear weekly updates about our rehearsal process, cast events, and lots of fun info about us at Camp Half-Blood. Let’s do this!
