The campus drama department will present Meet Me in St. Louis, which senior Miriam DeWolf plays a lead role as the wife and mother, Mrs. Anna Smith. The play is scheduled for April 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. and April 28 at 4 p.m.
Senior year tends to be a year of excitements of the promise the future holds, and of uncertainty for everything that will change. As one looks back on their high school experience they realize what their passion is and hold on to that forever. For senior Miriam DeWolf, she found her passion early on and continued with it through this year.
DeWolf discovered her passion for the theatre in the sixth grade. Having very little knowledge of what she was getting into, she was open to the idea of trying something new.
“I became interested in drama in sixth grade when they began to offer electives,” DeWolf said. “I wasn’t really sure about what I wanted to do, so I decided to go with drama. I’ve been in drama for six years, and love every minute of it.”
Throught the six years of participating in drama, DeWolf has played a multitude of different characters, all with different personalities. Her personal favorite character that she has ever played was Kay Cornwell in the play “Babbling Brooks.”
“My favorite roll that I have ever played has got to be this very ditzy character called Kay Cornwell in the play Babbling Brooks,” DeWolf said. “We did this {‘Babbling Brooks’} play my freshmen year. It was just so much fun to play her because she was so crazy and so funny and way out there.”
Her mother, Kimberly DeWolf believes that her love for drama began much earlier, when she began participating in plays for her church.
“Miriam became interested in drama, performing in church and school plays in her early elementary years,” Kimberly said. “Some of our fondest memories were when she sang ‘My Favorite Things’ from the Sound of Music in second grade at the talent show, and the play, ‘Babbling Brooks’ in high school.”
Fellow drama classmate Caitlin Gains, ’15, also admires the work and dedication that DeWolf puts into her acting.
“She works hard to do the character she is portraying and really she makes you believer her,” Gains said. “She works her hardest and always puts in 110 percent to nail her new character.”
DeWolf mentions that although she loves to act, she has only ever taken part in very comedic plays, making her personal preference limited in genre.
“We’ve never actually done serious plays in drama; we’ve mostly done comedies,” Dewolf said. “So I’ve never really experienced a truly serious play other than what I’ve seen others perform.”
Kimberly enjoys watching Miriam perform and take on the different characters and personas with effortless talent.
“She has a natural talent for adapting to a variety of roles and characters,” Kimberly said. “What is so amazing is that if she gets stuck on a line or someone else forgets their line. Miriam ‘ad libs’ or adjusts without stumbling, making her transitions so real that the audience never knows the difference.”
As DeWolf begins her journey into college and adulthood, she also plans on staying involved in the theatre, even if it may not exactly be acting.
“I am wanting to stay pretty involved in dramas and other productions, in a sort of different way,” DeWolf said. “I’m planning to transfer into the Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing and study theatrical costume design.”
Kimberly noticed from an early age that Miriam had a natural talent and passion for fine arts. Being blessed with a unique gift, she appreciates that Miriam has learned to express herself through drama.
“Miriam has always has a gift for creativity, which has expressed itself in her passion for drawing, sketching, painting, color, detail and seeing things three dimensionally,” Kimberly said. “Miriam has been blessed with a unique gift. Expressing herself in the arts, through drama and art, has allowed her to share/communicate her free spirit.”
In the upcoming play Meet Me in St. Louis, DeWolf has a lead role as the wife and mother, Mrs. Anna Smith. The drama class will perform on April 25 for the elementary at 1 p.m. Their next performances will be April 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. and April 28 at 4 p.m. Tickets are on sale for $5 at the door.
For more features, read the April 16 article, Students enjoy country-themed Sadies, line dancing.