by Kirsten Sepulvado
In the recent musical Descendants, performed by Captain Shreve’s Theater Performance Team, the role of Audrey was performed by Kaitlin Smith. Smith is a junior at Captain Shreve and had never done a play or musical with this group before. She had once done a play in 5th grade in a Willy Wonka show, but proves to have grown up with her recent acting performance. Her character Audrey may not be one of the main characters in Disney’s original production, but Smith found a way to make this character shine. With this aspiring artist’s vocals and acting skills, she was able to make her character stand out to the audience. After she would sing, the crowd would clap and cheer for her outstanding vocals. I got the chance to speak with Smith and learn about her process before and during this performance.
How long did it take you to learn your part and understand your character?
“It took (about) a week to learn my character. It did not take as long as it usually would because I had seen the movies and loved them.”
What is the most challenging part of being in the musical?
“The most challenging part of being in this production has been not being intimidated by the people around me. Most of the cast from Descendants had been in drama or TPT and this wasn’t their first play with Ms. Hooper. So it took me a minute to feel comfortable with my acting and not being shy on stage with other experienced actors.”
Do you have any tactics to help you learn what to do and when to do it?
“There are many different memorization and articulation techniques I practice. I’m not that experienced of an actress so I’m new to this but I’m learning from my cast mates. I’ve recently tried lettering memorization (which is memorizing a line by only looking at the first letter of each word) and tongue twisters (which help with diction and opening up the mouth).
What made you want to be a part of this play?
“I decided to be a part of this play because I really just love singing. I heard about the auditions and thought, ‘Why not? I don’t really do anything after school anyway.’ I don’t act but that’s what makes it more fun. You get to be a part of something big and learn from the people around you.”
In the musical number put on by Captain Shreve’s theater performance team we see a new actress enthusiastic to learn new things and work to become better. As an inexperienced actress Smith had to work harder than others to portray her role the best way and she came out successful in making the audience love Audrey for her comedic relief and antagonist-like role. One day Captain Shreve alumni will see Kaitlin Smith as something big, an artist in the music industry, and will look back and remember her performance in Disney’s Descendants.