March is musical season just as much as it is college commitment season.
Senior Phelan Newman has been balancing playing the role of Ursula in Penn-Trafford’s upcoming musical rendition of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” and auditioning for colleges.
Newman is a musical veteran, having done 10 shows for the P-T school district alone. She plans to get her bachelor in fine arts, also known as a BFA, in acting.
The application process for a degree in the fine arts is much different than other majors. Newman described the rigorous audition process.
“This has been a long nine month journey. The requirements depend on the school, so you have to have a lot of material prepared. Some schools just require a dramatic monologue. Some require both a dramatic and comedic monologue,” Newman explained
The audition process would be impossible without a coach, and Newman is very thankful for hers.
“Daina Griffith has been my acting coach. She’s the reason I’ve been accepted to colleges. She helped me find material that would fit my style of acting,” Newman said. “I have never enjoyed Shakespere until now and that’s because of her.”
While Newman waits for the colleges she applied to to make their decisions, a lot of which have already accepted her into their BFA program, she is focusing her attention on P-T’s spring musical.
“Ursula is the first villain I’ve played at Penn-Trafford. I’m pulling my inspiration for this character from the drag queen Divine.”
Divine was a drag queen in the ‘70s and ‘80s that inspired Disney’s interpretation of Ursula.
“When I’m acting, I’m kind of a different being,” Newman said.
The opening night for “The Little Mermaid” is March 24. To purchase tickets, follow the link: http://www.pthsdramaguild.com/