Junior Anna Sullivan is a beloved member of the theater family. She has been in theater since 7th grade and enjoys the sense of community it brings into her life.

Theater takes up a lot of her time, upward 8 hours a week. Sullivan is on the drama board and organizes a lot of their events.  The black box is where Sullivan and her classmates get creative.

“We have a lot of improv games that we do that help acting and vocal rehearsals, we all sing together, we all exercise together. A lot of our blocking, we all do together, you’re never really alone in theater,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan was pulled into theater by her love for Le Mis, a musical her mom introduced to her at 12 years old. Le Mis also kick started her love for period pieces.

“I really got into, for example, shows like Hamilton, that focus on a time period, but when you listen to that you get interested in that time period,” Sullivan said. “Like Le Mis is France in the 1800s and you go back and do your own research after seeing that show and it just, it sparks a lot of interest.”

Sullivan was also drawn to the friendly environment of theater.

“I think a big pull from theater is just it’s such a sense of community and I think for someone, if you’re looking for friends or people to support you, theater is such a good place to go.” Sullivan said. “And it’s just like it’s a good place to start because there’s always something for everyone to do. Theaters are a really open group, it’s nice, like it’s not strictly one thing,

Sullivan is involved with this hobby multiple ways outside of school as well.

“Outside of school, you know, theater was a lot of music and I really liked music,” Sullivan said. “I listen to music, sing, go to see other shows, which helps get inspiration for it, and sometimes do community theater outside of school.”

Sullivan said she may not pursue theater in college but that it has led her to find an appreciation for historic literature.

“I think theater has inspired a lot of love for the things that I have today that I want to pursue in the future but I think it will always be more of a hobby,” Sullivan said. “Things like with history and literature because you know, a lot of shows in theater focus on the past or they take lessons we’ve learned, you know, from the past, and they incorporate that into music.” 

With the help of the theater teacher Mr. De La Espriella, Sullivan has learned many valuable lessons.

“Mr. De La Espriella, he continually told us: sometimes you’re gonna feel stupid when we do theater, like when your acting, you might feel dumb, you might feel stupid, but you get out there and do it.” Sullivan said. “And I think a lot of that has helped me just in everyday life to just not care as much what other people think.”