The Drama Queen

The Drama Queen wasn’t always a Drama Queen. She was born on a sunny summer day in 1989. As a wee one, she was incredibly shy! She didn’t like strangers or ham & bean soup (even though her babysitter insisted that she did!). She started kindergarten 2 weeks before her 5th birthday. She was so small! We were worried for her, but we knew she was smart and more than ready for school.

She was a skinny little thing and she was known to pop her elbow out of the socket by hanging on the monkey bars although anything athletic wasn’t really her style. Oh, she played soccer and softball, volleyball and basketball, but mostly to please her mom, not because she loved them. She even had her stint in dance lessons, but they weren’t really her thing either.

She loved learning and reading! My sweetie still thinks it’s absolutely hilarious that once he had to ground her from reading for not cleaning her room. She was shy and sweet in elementary school, always winning the citizenship and honors awards. She has an incredible mind (she gets it from her dad, not me) that soaks up everything. Then she can spit out random, useless facts at just the appropriate moment. I don’t think she ever forgets anything.


When she was in 6th grade, she had a huge turning point in her life. The sixth graders always put on a Shakespeare play as part of their curriculum, and that particular year they had chosen the Taming of the Shrew. The Drama Queen was so excited! She loved Shakespeare and had already memorized several long speeches. She could even do the English accent (not required for the audition, but extremely cool anyway).

High School Play - a lead role

She was terrified during the audition, but her teacher could see that she had something special (besides a mom who could sew her a costume). She was chosen to be Kate, the Shrew. She worked hard perfecting her lines and the delivery, and when I finally saw it altogether on stage (with her amazing costume, of course) it was hard to believe that this was my shy little girl. She had finally discovered something that she could be passionate about.

After that first performance, we signed her up for some local theater classes, then she auditioned for some community theater. She had a role in Oliver, played part of the ensemble for Jane Eyre and My Fair Lady, but my favorite role is one you have probably never heard of…a Halloween musical where she played the wicked witch lead in Annabelle Broom, the Unhappy Witch.

She had several opportunities in high school with some other leading roles; then she was off to college. She chose SUU because of their proximity to the Shakespearean Festival. She auditioned for a couple of plays there, but the competition is so intense that she was never selected for a part. She was the director of a one-act play as part of her teaching degree. She completed a secondary ed degree, double majoring in theater and English. She was gone for nearly four years and now she is back home getting ready to do her student teaching at a local junior high school.

She is an amazing person! We love having her around and giving her a chance to get to know some of her little siblings better. It’s so fun to watch a movie or play with her because she laughs right out loud. She knows how to be a good audience because she has spent time in front of one. I’ve been looking and I’ve found a place for her to audition this weekend for a community production of Little Women. I can hardly wait to see her on stage again. In the meantime, she can just be center stage at our house when she celebrates her 22nd birthday today. Happy birthday, Drama Queen. You’ve filled our lives with love and laughter. Love, Mom