Freshman A. Walker takes a deep breath. It’s their first high school play, and they have had only one month to prepare. Walker does the final round of mic checks, and the play is about to start. They are the only freshman taking on a lead role, and it’s time to prove themself.
Walker, who played Scarecrow, was the only freshman lead in the LHS Theatre Company’s “The Wizard of Oz” on the weekends of Nov. 1 and 8 because of a casting change.
“I had, like, half a month to learn my lines and my blocking,” Walker said. “Then I had that other half to start perfecting anything.”
Walker received the role on short notice when two of the leads, Scarecrow and Lion, needed to be recast.
“I talked to [theatre teacher Greta] Peterson because I had been doing a lot of ensemble work, and because I enjoy the bigger parts,” Walker said.
Walker asked Peterson to take on the Scarecrow’s role with little time remaining. After auditioning, they got the part.
“Walker auditioned and did great,” Peterson said. “Walker is a freshman, so there’s a long way to go to solidify acting skills, but Walker is definitely on their way.”
Walker has past experience from acting in middle school theatre, starring in the spring of their 8th grade year in Peter/Wendy, and earlier in the ensemble during Wiley and the Hairy Man.
“I already had that mindset of going on stage, talking in front of all those people, because I had already done it twice, and I had also been a lead, so I knew what I was getting into,” Walker said. “I was kind of stressed about it because I was the only freshman, and I was playing this big role that I had to learn in, like, half a month.”
Although Walker had a background in acting, their views shifted as they took on a more prominent role.
“I think it changed how I see, like, getting a role in a lower position than other people because of all these great actors around me bouncing ideas off of one another, and, like, I am a freshman, and I just got here this year,” Walker said. “So I think that that was a really good learning experience, having all of this other acting talent, and me, just being friends.”
Walker’s first year in high school theatre has not always been a smooth ride. They have had to learn to adapt to new experiences in high school.
“I have never used mics before,” Walker said. “That was my first time using mics, so that was interesting. And the scene around me was really interesting. I have never worked with littles (kids) before. There were 15 little children, like, below middle school, and, like, two middle schoolers.”
Despite all of these new challenges, Peterson said that the play “couldn’t have been better.”
“Everyone feels as though it was the best musical yet,” Peterson said. “I’m not sure what we can put on next year to outdo this year.”
Walker is happy they took on a lead role earlier and was able to prove to the director that they could handle more serious roles than ensemble.
“I think that’ll help me get better roles in the future because she knows that I can do it,” Walker said.
