MONROE — Cameron Lee, a senior at Monroe High School, is an actor. He’s been nominated for multiple awards for his professional work in Seattle, which includes performances at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, the ACT Theater, the 5th Avenue Theater and the Seattle Opera. Lee, 17, is now starring in a school play as Leon, the lead character in “Fools.”
Question: How did you get into acting?
Answer: I started acting when I was 11. I have a passion for acting, theater, art and music. But when I was young, I had a stutter. I knew I wanted to be an actor so I took speech therapy to overcome it.
Q: How did you get your first role?
A: When I auditioned for my first production at 11, I wanted to be the most focused, determined person in that room. I would make direct eye contact with the adults who were making the decisions. I got the role I wanted, which was Frog in “A Year with Frog and Toad.”
Q: What did you take away from that first part?
A: It was a musical and part of me didn’t think I could do it. I learned anything is possible if you put your mind to it. That’s something I’ve carried with me.
Q: How did you break into professional acting?
A: I kept doing summer programs at ArtsWest in West Seattle. In 2011, I was hired for an adult, main-stage production called “Distracted” by Lisa Loomer. It was the first time I had to balance two worlds: school and being in a professional show.
Q: How does high school acting compare with your professional experience?
A: It’s like culture shock going between them. Theater is a night business and school is definitely not. The professional environment is much different. It’s people’s jobs and they treat it as such. In high school, it’s an extracurricular activity and a place to fit in.
Q: What is your audition strategy?
A: I prepare as much as possible so I won’t forget. The best impression you can make is your genuine one.
Q: What are you most proud of?
A: I’m very proud of a role I played my sophomore year at the 5th Avenue Theatre, which was part of the Rising Star Project. It’s a professional show with high school students. I played Prince Herbert and a lot of other roles in Monty Python’s “Spamalot.”
Q: What else are you interested in?
A: Music. I like writing my own, and music theory. I’m really interested in writing and recording. I sing, play piano and program music on the computer. At school, I’m in choir, jazz choir and the barber shop group, an a cappella men’s ensemble.
Q: Is your family musical too?
A: There are a few songs that if I press play while we’re in the car, my family turns into a choir. We all have our harmony parts we made up.
Q: What else are you working on?
A: Me and a few other seniors are getting a team together to make mini-documentaries about issues people aren’t paying attention to. We’ll ask questions like “Are we doing enough recycling at school?” and figure out what to do about it.
Q: What are your plans for after high school?
A: I want to go to a liberal arts college. I’m looking at Bard in upstate New York and Eugene Lang in New York City. I want to explore different disciplines. I’d love to be a generative artist, who generates things that spread joy and inspiration to people.
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.
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