Photo Credit: Amanda Tavares[/caption]The lights dim in the theater, the curtains open, and audience members’ gazes turn to the actress standing on the stage. For Meghan O’Shaughnessy, a 16-year-old junior at Orange, this is her dream. The rush she gets from performing live in front of an audience first attracted her when she was a child, and she still enjoys it today.
O’Shaughnessy has been involved in theatre since she was eight or nine years old. She acted in elementary school plays at Pathways, playing Wendy in Peter Pan at one point. She continued participating in theatre at C.W. Stanford Middle School, where she acted in every play the school put on, from La Belle et la Bête to Watch Your Back for Stingy Jack! At OHS, she’s in Theatre Proficient, the equivalent of Theatre III and IV. She has been in OHS plays like Hairapy Sessions and The Taming of the Shrew, and plans to audition for future plays if she has time.
Broadway musicals are one of O’Shaughnessy’s obsessions. She would “love to be on Broadway,” but she “can’t sing or dance,” she said. As ambitious as her plans are, she knows that it is difficult to make it as an actor, so she plans to double major in theatre and business. She expects to go to UNC-Chapel Hill, although she dreams of going to Ithaca College in New York. O’Shaughnessy works at the Maple View Country Store, so she has been hard-pressed to find time to act in school plays this year.
As an actress, O’Shaughnessy has many other actresses whom she admires. When asked to name one, she couldn’t help but name two--Samantha Barks and Sutton Foster. She had no trouble thinking of her favorite Broadway show---Newsies, which recently closed.
O’Shaughnessy loves theatre for more than just the rush. She also loves the theatre community at OHS. Plus, it’s “nice to not be you” for a while, O’Shaughnessy added.
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