Q: You’re just back from a college-visit trip. What schools did you visit?
A: My mom and I went to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. I’m seriously looking at Chapel Hill. I have also visited (University of) Notre Dame. I’m also looking at UW and other schools.
Q: Why North Carolina?
A: They have a really great theater program. I am very passionate about theater.
Q: How long have you been involved in drama?
A: Since grade school. I saw my friend, in fourth grade, in an Archbishop Murphy (High School) production. The next year, I was in “Bye Bye Birdie” at Murphy. I was bitten by the theater bug.
Q: Tell me about your family.
A: I have a younger brother, Jack, he’s a freshman here. He’s a basketball player. And I have a sister, Kelly, in eighth grade at Valley View (middle school). She plays volleyball.
Q: Where did you go to grade school?
A: I went to St. Brendan’s in Bothell for kindergarten through eighth grade.
Q: Was it a big adjustment coming to Glacier Peak?
A: Coming from a smaller private school, I wanted a change. Coming here was definitely scary at first, from a class of 30 to a class of 400. Meeting all these people has been great. You look around the lunch room and think, “I’ve never seen you before. I’d like to get to know you.”
Q: Have you acted with other companies?
A: Yes, I was helped by Marsha Stueckle at Evergreen Family Theatre — it used to be Woodinville Repertory. She is this crazy-fun lady. She encourages kids of all ages. And at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle last March, I was part of a student production of “Oklahoma!” I was going to downtown Seattle every day. It was called the Oklahoma! Project.
Q: What is your favorite class at Glacier Peak?
A: Right now, it’s AP literature with Mrs. (Valerie) Browning. We’re reading lots of plays, which I like. Mrs. Browning was director of “The Music Man” here, and “The Sound of Music.” AP lit is also my hardest class. It’s taken a lot of effort.
Q: Will you be a theater major in college?
A: I will explore theater in some way. I’m also interested in education, and maybe teaching at the high school level.
Q: What production have you enjoyed most?
A: Sophomore year I played Liesl in “The Sound of Music.” It was a wonderful part, and I got to be a nanny backstage to all the younger kids.
Q: And you enjoy working with kids?
A: I’ve gone to YMCA’s Camp Orkila for three summers. I was a volunteer counselor. I had a blast last summer.
Q: Is there a favorite memory you’ll take away from Glacier Peak?
A: It’s being in the musicals. Also, this year, when Ali Steenis’ friends surprised her. It was such a moment of community. (Herald writer Eric Stevick’s Dec. 16 article covered the birthday surprise of Ali’s friends helping their legally blind classmate get a chance to drive.)
Brooklyn Dana spearheaded it, but I was in on it, too. We had to get her to school somehow, and I told her something about my brother and basketball. Ali goes through every day with the biggest smile on her face.
Q: Do you have a favorite book?
A: I’ve always loved “Anne of Green Gables.” It’s one of those books I can read 100 times.
Q: Tell me about where you live.
A: We live in the Clearview area. We have a barn. At the end of summer we all got together, the whole senior class was invited. We painted the barn “Best in Class” — except the “B” is the number “13” for our class.
Q: You were homecoming queen. What’s that like?
A: It is extremely humbling. It’s done by a vote. It was more than a title. Freshman year, I didn’t know anyone. We were crowned during an assembly. My friend Sam Hinson was the king. We were both floored. At the homecoming football game, we rode out in a convertible. It was cold, and that was the only time during the game that it rained.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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