Sifting through her list of colleges that offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater, Molly Fitzpatrick, junior, sorted all 101 colleges by completion, grade requirements and location. 

Whether it be dancing or singing, Fitzpatrick has always liked performing on a stage, but when she discovered theatre her freshman year, it became an outlet to put all of her interests to use. 

“I love the ability to tell stories,” Fitzpatrick said. “It doesn’t come easy, but it’s something I can work at and try for, and see my progress.”

Working toward a goal of going into theatre professionally, Fitzpatrick looked outside of the Marquette Theatre Company for more opportunities in theatre and came across Chaminade College and Preparatory School’s production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” She earned the role of Mrs. Shears after callbacks and several cold reads.

Fitzpatrick said participating in different shows through high school has helped her grow as an actor.

“You get different opportunities,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’ve gotten to work with different choreographers, music directors and directors, they all do things in a different way.” 

Chaminade’s runs of the show will be on Dec. 11-13.

Sofia Chirco, senior, also desires to major in musical theater in college. She is participating both in MHS’s current production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” as Siobhan, and the production of “White Christmas” at St. Charles Community College as the dance captain.

Chirco said that although there is a struggle balancing two demanding shows at once, working so much outside of school makes her feel like she’s playing a sport.

“It’s like when you practice a sport even when you’re not in season, like you’re keeping all those muscles, your voice and everything healthy,” Chirco said.

From working with 9 year olds to high schoolers, differing production sizes, and adjusting to different audition requirements, Chirco said she’s developed new bonds.

“It’s a little bit harder to do outside of school because we’re here every single day,” Chirco said. “It’s other people you don’t know at all when you’re auditioning.” 

While she is spending 15 hours at both productions each week, Chirco is also applying to several colleges.

“You have to record yourself singing, dancing and doing monologues. Then you send them to schools,” Chirco said. “And if they like you, they’ll invite you to come audition in person for them.” 

With several demanding events occurring at once, Chirco said she has to adapt new mentalities to encourage herself and bring motivation into long days.

“Going with the flow, take it one day at a time, and be present,” Chirco said. “When I’m at the rehearsal for the play, I can’t worry about my other show. I can’t worry about my homework. I’m working on this here.”

Bryce Miller, hall monitor, participated in three shows at once when he was at Rockwood Summit High School, including George in “The Drowsy Chaperone,” MacAfee in “Bye Bye Birdie” and Belch in “Twelth Night.” 

Whenever he sees students perform outside of MHS, Miller remembers when he did the same thing and how much he grew from receiving differing feedback.

While grateful for the opportunities, Miller said he still had stress and priorities weighing down on him. 

“I felt a little strained since my entire days were filled with school and multiple rehearsals. It was like that for 2-3 months,” Miller said. “It was good practice, juggling multiple priorities at once.” 

Miller also hopes students prioritize themselves and make time to live outside of their shows.

“Prioritize sleep and meals. Any time I was close to burning out, I either wasn’t sleeping enough or it was because I wasn’t making time to eat or drink,” Miller said.