In The Spotlight - Sarah Wilson

How long have you been performing in shows
I started ballet shows at 4 and was singing in school shows not long after that, but I didn't start doing any acting on stage or anything until I was 10ish.

What got you interested in music / theatre
I'm not entirely sure, as I've been interested in it for as long as I can remember, demanding musicals everytime we were in Blockbuster, generally always either The Sound of Music or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, when I was really young. I think I really became interested in performing musical theatre though when I moved to England and saw Cats on the West End. I hadn't really seen much professional theatre until I moved close to London as LA is more about the movies! But I became addicted ever since, dragging my friends on the train to London, to get the cheap £10 tickets almost weekly.

What was your first show
My very first show when I was 4 was one for ballet, we were little fairies and ran around the auditorium with lights in our hair, and left in the interval because we were too young to stay up any later! My first acting show that wasn't just ballet was W=when I was 10 and living in California. I moved schools and to get to know people at my new school my mom signed me up for theatre summer camp in order to make friends. We did Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was Violet Beauregard, the one who turns into a giant blueberry. I thought it was great at the time, which probably had more to do with eating my weight in the free Wonka candies we were giving out at every performance.

What has been your favourite show and/or character and why
There are three that come to mind. Most recently doing Carmen in Fame with Greasepaint, I really enjoyed that show and experience. My favourite bit had to be singing In La, which I loved singing, and that scene was such a great scene to perform. There will always be things I look back on and think I could have done better in the show, but that scene I just enjoyed. I loved being a part of the society for that show, it was so much fun working with everyone and it had such a nice atmosphere. Reheasals were the highlight of my week!
The others were when I did the Wizard of Oz at 16 and played Dorothy, as that was always a dream of mine when I was younger, I had so much Wizard of Oz memorabilia! And not musical theatre but when I did the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night and played Olivia, I love performing Shakespeare as I love the language and had an amazing time doing the yellow stockings scene.

Describe the best and worst costumes you have had to wear
Best costume, maybe the Dorothy outfit, purely because it is so iconic!

Worst costume, it has to be in a ballet show I was in once. I can't even remember how old I was 14/15? but the memory has haunted me forever! I had to wear this unitard/all in one thing, it was so unflattering. It was in this horrible sort of vomit green colour, with brown vines hanging all over it!

What has been your proudest moment
Probably being cast as Carmen. I went for the part never even thinking I'd get it, and I know its easy for me to say that now, but I genuinely didn't! I couldn't even phone up Shane to hear if I had the part. I just went on the website to see who had been cast, saw on there, and then phones up to hear for myself. I was kind of in shock the whole rest of the day!

If you could choose any show to perform in, what would it be and why
There are so many! At the moment, it's the Last 5 Years by Jason Robert Brown. I think the music in that and the way the show is constructed is so beautiful. But I don't think it'll ever get done as it's only a cast of two! But I could name hundreds of others I'd love to do. I'd like to do almost anything! I just have such a great time, it's all about the people who are also there who make the experience what it is!

Do you have any plans to pursue theatre as a career
I did consider acting as a career when I was younger. I came to university wanting to go to drama school after that, but I realised I just don't have the personality or strength of character for it, I'm too shy and fragile for such a world! At one point I had a lecturer from my drama degree trying to persuade me to go to Eastern Europe to do Avant-garde theatre, with Eastern Europe being the centre of that sort of theatre. However the sensible part of me thought this plan wouldn't really be practical. I still hope to be involved with theatre or film and television in some way, which is something I am trying to work towards at the moment.