06.2015
After the tragic shooting in Newtown, 1214 Foundation was formed to bring arts to the neighborhood kids. It's an amazing program. They bring in real Broadway stars to prepare the kids to put on Broadway-caliber shows. That year they were putting on a musical comedy called Liberty Smith and Lion King, Jr. I auditioned with "Endless Night" from Lion King. Almost 200 kids tried out. We had four callbacks before the parts were decided. It was stressful, but every time I got a callback I felt invigorated. In the end, to be given the role of Scar in The Lion King, Jr. and also to be picked to be in the ensemble of Liberty Smith was awesome. I had never been around so many people that all shared the same talents and interests as me. What a thrill!