Photo by Nikole Dimanche

Clara Griep acts in theater class

Hands joined with her cast members, junior Clara Griepp looks at all of their faces and smiles to herself. Griepp takes a final deep breath before heading back stage. She’s done this millions of times, yet somehow she always gets a little nervous beforehand and tenses up. Griepp hears her cue and glides on stage, relaxes, and begins to speak. Then everything just comes naturally.

“It’s really nerve-wracking a lot of times,” Griepp said. “We have a pre-show group circle that’s always reassuring because it reminds the cast we are doing this for a reason and that always helps to prepare you to go on stage.”

Griepp’s involvement in theater is no recent development. In fact, her love for theater spans back to when she was very young.

“I’ve always liked movies and actors and kind of followed them,” Griepp said. “I’ve always wanted to do theater but I just started in 7th grade because that’s when classes were first available and since then theater has been a huge part of my life.”

Griepp participated in over six major plays over the years. Theater provides an outlet in which Griepp can have fun and channel her creative energy.

“I like getting to do fun things [in theater],” Griepp said. “It’s always something different, always something new that you get to do.”

There are countless aspects of theater that Griepp considers enjoyable, but the costuming part of the process prevails above all others.

“Costumes are always really fun,” Griepp said. “It’s the first time you get to become that person for real because you start to look like what you imagine they would look like, and it’s fun to connect with them like that.”

Looking back, Griepp remembers certain roles and plays she has been in that stand out for her. One of those is getting to play Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank for the UIL One Act Play competition.

“Historical characters are really fun to play because you get to kind of honor them in the theatre and if they’re not alive anymore you get to kind of bring them back to life,” Griepp said.

According to Griepp, the bonds with the One Act Play cast are unlike any other play, because of the amount of time they must spend with each other.

“It’s just really fun to be able to grow so close to a group of people,” Griepp said. “They are all so talented because they have made it into this program and it’s really fun to be able to bond with them and learn new things from the shows that you get to see from going to competitions.”

As for the future, Griepp knows theater will definitely be a part of it, but she also knows she won’t be able to control everything she will end up doing.

“[My future] will be iffy, which is what you would expect for an actor,” Griepp said. “I would like to do theater and movies if I can and just be involved as much as I can be.”