Francesca Goodsell
Walpole High School
From a young age, I always knew that there was something different about me than the other kids in my classes. I never wanted to play basketball during recess nor did I find pleasure in gossiping about what boys’ had “cooties”. Instead I preferred to sit and think about stars of the yester-years who became icons and legends through performing on big stages where “common folk” would pay hundreds of dollars just to see them sing their breathtaking eleven o’clock numbers. From Kristin Chenoweth to Liza Minnelli to Barbra Streisand, I was obsessed with the way these starlets could captivate an audience with one note or enunciated word. These performers ultimately encouraged my nine year old self to audition for a show for the first time ever: Pinocchio at Walpole Children’s Theatre in 2017. I can still remember the excited nerves I felt when I first ascended the stage to perform my audition monologue of “Madame Dido”. I remember thinking to myself: “This is it. I am going to be a star. Just breathe and talk slowly with purpose.” After my audition I felt like I was on cloud nine. I had finally done what I wanted to do for so long. The entire weekend after my audition was filled with anxiety as I waited for the phone call that I believed would determine my fate. When my mom’s phone finally rang, I waited as she received the news that I thought would make or break me as a future star. She hung up the phone and I held my breath as I received the news that unfortunately I was not cast in the show, but they encouraged me to come back and audition for their next show the following winter. Immediately, as any nine year old whose dreams were just crushed would, I cried. No, I sobbed. But then I realized that if I was going to be a performer and a future star, I couldn’t cry after one audition didn’t turn out the way that I wanted it to, so I went back and auditioned for two more shows until I was finally cast in Walpole Children's Theatre's production of Beauty and the Beast in 2018. From Beauty and the Beast and onwards, I was a “Walpole Children’s Theatre kid,” until 2021 when I took my final bow on the Walpole Footlighters Stage in The Bottle of Joy. However, my theatre journey definitely did not stop when I departed from Walpole Children’s Theatre. In actuality, it really had just begun.
In 2022, I started taking voice lessons at Ensemble Performing Arts Studio. Ensemble was an entirely different ballgame for me because the main focus was on training instead of just performing. Although this was a change, I was so excited for the differences and the challenges that it presented. From my first voice lesson to now, I can confidently say that I have become an entirely new and better performer through my time at Ensemble. I have learned how to be resilient and confident. I have learned how to make acting choices and not be afraid to do something different than other people in the room. I have learned that although everyone wants to be a lead, it is much more important to be a leader. Most importantly, Director and Studio Owner, Cailin Dyke Kelly has taught me what it means to love theatre selflessly. Theatre and performing brings me so much joy, but at the end of the day if I am making other people happy and improving their lives by my art then that is when I have truly done my job.
Although I still love Kristin Chenoweth, Liza Minnelli, and Barbra Streisand, I have also realized that I don’t have to be just like them to be considered a star, Theatre has taught me that everyone can be a star in their own way. You do not have to be a carbon copy of one particular “model” of performer in order to be special. I am so excited to continue my theatre journey in college at Manhattanville University where I hope to instill every star with a selfless love of theatre.
Walpole High School
From a young age, I always knew that there was something different about me than the other kids in my classes. I never wanted to play basketball during recess nor did I find pleasure in gossiping about what boys’ had “cooties”. Instead I preferred to sit and think about stars of the yester-years who became icons and legends through performing on big stages where “common folk” would pay hundreds of dollars just to see them sing their breathtaking eleven o’clock numbers. From Kristin Chenoweth to Liza Minnelli to Barbra Streisand, I was obsessed with the way these starlets could captivate an audience with one note or enunciated word. These performers ultimately encouraged my nine year old self to audition for a show for the first time ever: Pinocchio at Walpole Children’s Theatre in 2017. I can still remember the excited nerves I felt when I first ascended the stage to perform my audition monologue of “Madame Dido”. I remember thinking to myself: “This is it. I am going to be a star. Just breathe and talk slowly with purpose.” After my audition I felt like I was on cloud nine. I had finally done what I wanted to do for so long. The entire weekend after my audition was filled with anxiety as I waited for the phone call that I believed would determine my fate. When my mom’s phone finally rang, I waited as she received the news that I thought would make or break me as a future star. She hung up the phone and I held my breath as I received the news that unfortunately I was not cast in the show, but they encouraged me to come back and audition for their next show the following winter. Immediately, as any nine year old whose dreams were just crushed would, I cried. No, I sobbed. But then I realized that if I was going to be a performer and a future star, I couldn’t cry after one audition didn’t turn out the way that I wanted it to, so I went back and auditioned for two more shows until I was finally cast in Walpole Children's Theatre's production of Beauty and the Beast in 2018. From Beauty and the Beast and onwards, I was a “Walpole Children’s Theatre kid,” until 2021 when I took my final bow on the Walpole Footlighters Stage in The Bottle of Joy. However, my theatre journey definitely did not stop when I departed from Walpole Children’s Theatre. In actuality, it really had just begun.
In 2022, I started taking voice lessons at Ensemble Performing Arts Studio. Ensemble was an entirely different ballgame for me because the main focus was on training instead of just performing. Although this was a change, I was so excited for the differences and the challenges that it presented. From my first voice lesson to now, I can confidently say that I have become an entirely new and better performer through my time at Ensemble. I have learned how to be resilient and confident. I have learned how to make acting choices and not be afraid to do something different than other people in the room. I have learned that although everyone wants to be a lead, it is much more important to be a leader. Most importantly, Director and Studio Owner, Cailin Dyke Kelly has taught me what it means to love theatre selflessly. Theatre and performing brings me so much joy, but at the end of the day if I am making other people happy and improving their lives by my art then that is when I have truly done my job.
Although I still love Kristin Chenoweth, Liza Minnelli, and Barbra Streisand, I have also realized that I don’t have to be just like them to be considered a star, Theatre has taught me that everyone can be a star in their own way. You do not have to be a carbon copy of one particular “model” of performer in order to be special. I am so excited to continue my theatre journey in college at Manhattanville University where I hope to instill every star with a selfless love of theatre.
