What is your name and grade? Amanda, I’m a junior. 

What are your achievements so far aside from playing in She Kills Monsters? I’m currently on the choir board, have been a thespian since freshman year, (even receiving the equivalent of a varsity letter), ran varsity track for two years, and I’m in the Spanish Honor Society [SHS]. 

What drove you to do track? Did you like it? I’ve always been someone who’s able to run fast for short distances. In middle school, we did a track meet–that never happened–but we were supposed to do it, so I liked hurdles from that. I love track, don’t get me wrong, the adrenaline is one of the best things ever but everything else in the school was a mess. I’m taking a break this year and we’ll see what happens with that. 

What do you love most about theater? The joke I make about theater is ‘it’s a place where you are pretending to be someone else’ but I feel the most like myself because it’s just a big group of like-minded people who come together for an accumulated goal. We love blasting show tunes with that group of people in the show. You physically spend so much time with each other that you get really close, and that’s something I appreciate.

What were your favorite plays that you acted in? At Niles North, I have to say She Kills Monsters was definitely high up there. It had an amazing cast and crew, but in middle school, I was in Music Man which was probably a close second. 

What was your role in She Kills Monsters and what was it about? I played Tilly Evans, also known as Tilliest the Padalin, and the show was an adventure of two sisters. My character was dead, technically, but it was how the main character, Agnes, was brought into this Dungeons & Dragons world that her sister created– which was me. It was about how people can create dream realities, acceptance– because there are a lot of LGBTQ+ themes– sisterhood, and dealing with grief. Basically how to accept each other and have memories that you enjoy.

What were some fun things you did in your freshman to sophomore years? I did a lot, actually. I took advantage of my freshman year; there were crazy schedules ‘cause of Zoom, so I was able to take an extra class. I took creative writing which was a lot of fun. I was able to go to a lot of club meetings; they don’t have it anymore, but I used to go to TFE, which was a theater for equity/a theater in a social justice sense. I had to go to a lot of those meetings, I did Dance Marathon, and almost every show that Niles North has to offer. 

What is something you’re proud of? I guess just my determination for a lot of things. I’m not in all of the crazy classes, but I like doing a lot of things and I make sure to succeed in them. I hold myself to a really high standard that I usually achieve. In terms of academic achievement, I’m officially becoming a point tutor next year. 

Do you have any pets? I have a cat. She’s a Calico-Tabby mix, her name is Tiki, and I think she’s about 5 this year. 

What did you do over spring break? Over spring break, just a couple of things; I hung out with friends, I went to see an improv show at Second City, and we went to see the new Dungeons & Dragons movie. More importantly, I went to visit a bunch of colleges mostly in the Mach Conference, but also a few in the Big Ten; they were all in the Midwest area. 

What is your favorite TV show? Definitely Lost in Space, The Reboot. Talk to me about it, it’s so good. 

What field are you currently looking in? I’d love to do theater education and be a theater teacher to an extent.