Lucy Glow: The Freshman Who Stole The Show

As the lights flashed on, the audience was anxious to see what would happen as she stood on a ladder wearing a bright blue sequin dress alongside her on-stage brother. As soon as the number began, you could feel the amazement from the crowd as they watched the two perform the iconic song, Bop to the Top, and the second that the scene finished, a deafening round of applause filled the auditorium.
Freshman Lucy Glow has spent close to half of her life performing in the field of musical theatre, and it truly goes to show, as she earned the role of Sharpay in her first year as a part of the Sunnyslope theatre program. Whether it be acting, singing, dancing, or teaching her co-stars how to tap dance, Glow is truly one of the most impressive students on campus.
Despite Glow not being a part of the SHS theatre up until this play, the directing team was immediately impressed by her.
Theatre Director Madeline McDonald, reflected that the directing team was “immediately impressed” by Glow’s “natural stage presence,” and acting abilities such as projection, diction confidence. The team could also see clearly that Glow “had already studied and worked the material.” To some, these characteristics would be clear indications about the casting, but to others this came as a pleasant surprise.
Upon being asked about her reaction to being casted, Glow said, “I was really happy. I was a little surprised, because usually, as you know, freshmen don’t get leads. So it was a surprise and a shock, but I was really happy to get to join the theater at Sunnyslope”. While having a freshman lead may be uncommon, her co-stars handled it well.
Senior Peter Buskirk, who played Glow’s on stage-brother Ryan, explained how working extremely close with a Freshman was “definitely a new experience,” and even though there were some things that Glow was not fully familiar with, Buskirk shared that “she came in fully prepared, and I would argue she was honestly better than I was.” As well as being very prepared, Buskirk mentioned that Glow’s work ethic “pushed me to work harder”. Besides from Glow’s mindset being incredibly helpful to some, the directors took notice of how this mindset affected the dynamic of the entire cast.
While discussing the dynamic and energy that Glow brought to the production, McDonald explained how Glow’s high level of performing and game helped her castmates “rise to the occasion” and be challenged. But Glow also received the favor from her fellow actors and actresses.
Glow elaborated on how her experience was so great due to the many seniors across the production that were “kind and welcoming into the program” and how they helped lead her through working on the show, and concluding that the Sunnyslope theatre program was a “great community” And yet, the cherry on top of this is that this community completely embraces her.
Buskirk lovingly said, “She’s just a joy to be around. She’s so kind to those around her and so humble.” And being that she is only a freshman, possibilities are endless as we look into her bright future.
McDonald, while explaining her excitement, said, “Knowing her acting, singing, and dance ability is really awesome and promising to where I would hope that she’s continuing to audition for shows and that she would be earning parts in those shows as well and we know that we’ve got a young, a young budding triple threat, essentially, because she can dance, sing and act.” Whether it be on stage, or walking in the halls, you can expect to see Glow across campus with her wide skill set and her involvement across Sunnyslope High School.
While asking about her future across SHS, Glow concluded, “I think I will continue doing theatre and the musicals, and hopefully I will join choir in the next year or years to come, I’m also going to be continuing working on the POM team and the cheer team, and getting involved in the dance program as well.”