January 2012 is going to be quite a month for Abby Roland. First and foremost, on January 3rd, she'll be turnig ten years old! Then, just two weeks after that, she'll be playing her first leading role in a kidsActing musical when she debuts as "Horton the Elephant" in the Oak Hill class production of Seussical: The Musical. In preparation for playing the iconic Dr.
Seuss pachyderm that believes "a person's a person, no matter how small," Abby delved deep into the character by coming up with a background story for Horton; in doing so, she crafted a very thoughtful and mature first-person prequel narrative. We were quite impressed with her professionalism and commitment to the part, so we caught up with her over Winter Break to find out more about what makes Abby (and Horton!) tick...
Hello, Abby! Thanks for talking today... And Happy Birthday!
Thank you!
What are you doing to celebrate?
My friend's going to come over... her name is Kaley - she's also my singing coach. Kaley helps me a lot, so I want to say that! She helped me prepare my audition song and everything and she helped me on the "Alone in the Universe" song... I just thought it would only be fair if she gets mentioned in this article, too.... Because also, she's the person who actually gave me the idea to write Horton's story.
Cool! ...And we know Kaley! She played Arwen in kidsActing's Advanced Fellowship of the Ring last spring; she's super awesome. How did Kaley give you idea to write the story?
Well, like I said, she's been helping me with the songs in Seussical, especially "Alone in the Universe." She helps me a lot with that kind of stuff, and one day she suggested writing a back-story for Horton-- and so I started coming up with the ideas, and she wrote them down while I talked. Then I turned it into a story!
How has writing that story helped you with playing the character?
It's helped a lot, actually. It's helped me know how to say my lines, and to know how Horton's feeling at the time, and why Horton does the stuff he does... Sometimes I try to think more like Horton than like myself, so it helps. It especially helps for the scene with Mayzie The Bird and for singing "Alone in the Universe."
Were you excited to earn the role of Horton?
Yes! I was really excited; I could hardly believe it - it wasn't exactly the part I wanted at first, but I never thought I'd get the lead, especially in such an early show! I hadn't done that many shows before... so even though it wasn't what I auditioned for, it was a lot better!
What other shows have you done?
I've been in two other kidsActing shows- the first one was The Sound of Music, and I was a nun; and then in Beauty & the Beast I was Chip.
What's the most fun thing about playing Horton?
I really like my solo and the whole show is really fun. I really like Seussical, I'd seen it a bunch of times before. One of the things I love about theatre is being on stage and feeling scared and excited at the same time... with the lights and an audience... so being the lead is like that is, but so much bigger... I really like the spotlights and everything that happens at the show.
Was writing Horton's background story challenging?
Well, I expected it to be hard, but it really just came out... it was pretty easy once I was writing it!
Have you written other stories?
Yes. I write some stories and keep them on mommy's computer and stuff... I was even planning to write a story that was another part of the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, but then the author decided to write another book... So I had to call off writing that one.
Well, here's hoping you keep at it, both the acting and the writing! And break a leg in Seussical!
Thanks. I will!
You can see Abby's Oak Hill production of Seussical: The Musical, along with performances by the many fabulous kidsActing other casts from around town, through January 22. All shows are at Center Stage Texas. And now, for your reading enjoyment, here's the story that Abby wrote:
Horton's Back Story by Abby Roland
I was born in the jungle of Zool. My parents were elephants. My parents were nice, but they died when hunters shot them. I was three, and I've never forgotten. That's why I stood my ground when the hunters attacked me. I lost my childhood that day, so I've been spending my adulthood trying to get my childhood back. When I was really young, I had a friend named Zoolie who was a bird, which is why Mayzie had such an easy time convincing me to sit on her egg; I've always had a soft spot for birds. He moved away a little before we moved to the jungle of Nool. Zoolie was a cardinal, and he loved to go on scavenger hunts and find colorful leaves. When Zoolie and I were young, we always wanted to find a tiny world, and I never really gave up. When he moved away, I felt like I was losing the only friend I ever had. I became distant, which is why Gertrude had such a hard time catching my attention. I feared that I would learn to be close to her, and she would leave me too. When my parents died, it set me apart from the other kids, which is why I started thinking, and created a world in which I could truly belong. When my parents died, the Sour Kangaroo laughed at me, and that's why I'm terrified of her to this day.
