Growing up, I wasn’t really involved in musical theatre. I was a typical tomboy. I played softball and every other sport that I could participate in. It wasn’t really until high school that I started having an interest in musical theatre. In my 8th grade year, I saw my prospective high school put on the show Pippin, and I absolutely fell in love with musicals. However, I never actually auditioned for a show until my senior year of high school because I was too scared. I never thought that someone like me could go up on stage, but I did and I loved it!

I didn’t get another chance to go on stage until my sophomore year of college, at a local community theatre, which quickly disbanded after that show. So performing in shows fell off my radar again because I was so busy with school and playing a collegiate sport, that I really didn’t have time.

That was the case until my school got assigned a music teacher in 2018. I met Jason Messinger, the music teacher, and we quickly became friends. One day he heard me singing along in my classroom and started trying to convince me to audition for Godspell, which the Griffin theatre was going to put on in the spring. I initially resisted, insisting that I didn’t have time to drive down and audition. So he finally sat me down and made me do a video tape audition and to my surprise, I actually got in!

I honestly believe that everything happens for a reason and I am so thankful that I was convinced to audition at the Griffin theatre. I have developed so many friendships! Just a few months after Godspell closed, I performed in the Soak Up the Sun Cabaret, and my husband and I found out that he was deploying for the Army. The Griffin Theatre has been such a great support system for me during this difficult time and I have learned so much!

I feel like participating in the Griffin Theatre feels like being part of a family, which is the major reason why my husband and I became donors!