Age: 16

1. When and how did you get started practicing your art form?
   My mom and my aunt signed up my brother for an art class at Place des Arts. My parents wanted me to do something fun while my brother was doing his art class. My mom found out about the musical theatre class and wanted to sign me up because she thought I would be interested. Since my first theatre class, I’ve continued taking classes and I really enjoy theatre. 
2. How does winning this scholarship help you achieve your goals?   I felt like I’ve worked hard to come this far and after all my years of doing theatre, I feel like this award means a lot to me. I can use this scholarship to keep going to theatre classes and discover new characters from different plays or musicals. 
3. How has your teacher helped you achieve your goals?  
   My teacher Seamus taught me a few things about character work, and indirect and direct movements for theatre class (e.g.: If this character was a grumpy old person, this person would be leaning forward a lot and has a double bass voice). 
4. Share a story about your time at Place des Arts. It can be about an inspiring moment, an impactful relationship or your fondest memory.  
   My two memories of Place des Arts were when I did a play called Winne the Pooh (which then got edited to the Honey Files) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I enjoyed the Honey Files because the character I played has autism and because I have autism, I could think about how that character would talk, behave and think. When I did Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I got to play an Oompa Loompa leader and that helped my leadership skills and it was fun to dive in the voice of an Oompa Loompa. 
5. Who is your role model and why? 
   I chose Mary McNeely because I relate to her a lot with how she is trying to find her purpose and figure out who she is. That’s what I go through, and I ask myself the same questions.