"The Sound of Music" Spring 2017 Musical

Senior Reflections

SOPHIE L (Baroness Elsa Schraeder) Performing Arts has been the main constant in my life for as long as I can remember. My love for Wildwood, at its core, is due to the deep sense of community and belonging I feel for the Wildwood Performing Arts department. Participating in theatre at this school for the past 13 years has given me the opportunity to explore the dimensions of myself, as well

as the lengths I am able to go as an actor. Having played “Sandy” in Grease and now“Elsa Schraeder”in The Sound of Music during my last two years atWildwood, I have been allowed to bring new personal elements to characters I grew up watching onscreen. This Performing Arts Department has always felt like a safe space among my fellow actors and directors who all possess a deep sense of respect and passion for the same craft. This camaraderie is special and unique to Wildwood, and one that I will miss greatly come graduation this June. I would like to give endless thanks and gratitude to everyone who works tirelessly to put on these productions. I am excited to take on the role of director this spring, when I will be co-directing a one-act play alongside Kayla Streiber. I feel lucky to have found a home in this department and will take the life lessons I have learned here with me to college and beyond.

KAYLA S (Maria) In 2005 I lost a costume contest to a family of raindrops on roses. My sister and I were dressed up as “Silver white winters that melt into springs,” a costume that my mother put a lot of effort into. That was my first of many times at the Sing-A-Long Sound of Music at the Hollywood Bowl. There is something both beautiful and melancholy for me about singing my

favorite songs frommy childhood as I take theWildwood stage for the last time. There is a lot about Maria that I cannot relate to. For one thing, I have never prayed in my life and I most certainly do not know how to sew my own clothes. But while I may not be nearly as perky as Julie Andrews, there are some things about Maria that I do see inmyself, most poignantly her energetic persona and her palpable love for those around her. As a senior I have started to think about all of my “lasts” at Wildwood: my last Cabaret, my last All School Meeting, and my last day of school, but nothing stings more than this last. This community has been the heart of my Wildwood experience. The people are what make this place what it is, and I am eternally grateful for the friends I have made here. I have never met amore supportive, passionate, andgenerallykindgroupof people. StephanieandMelissa have been mentors to me both as an actress and in life. They have coached me through being a gangster, a bartender, a prince, a robot, and more. There is no way I can thank them enough for everything they have done for me. As sad as I amabout leaving this place that has become such an important part of me, I am excited when I think about the future. As Sister Margaretta always says, “When God shuts a door, he opens a window.”