Theater students plan for future on and off stage

Annie Kane, Josh Norris and Kirk Kirkpatrick all took different routes to find their love of theater, but the three seniors all plan to pursue a theater career after starring in “Legally Blonde” at Vestavia Hills High School this spring.

“I’ve always been around theater,” Kane said. “Theater was … an emotional outlet. I want to provide that for other people.”

Kane’s plan is to hopefully go to Troy University and pursue a career in theater education, motivated by the teaching of Jamie Stephenson, theater director at the high school.

“Not only does she teach us things about our craft, but about life,” Kane said. “We learn a lot of life lessons in here. You learn how to connect with other people in this class, on stage and off stage.”

Creating characters allows the students to find themselves in another person’s shoes, imagining how they would go through life, and in the process, learning empathy for others.

“I’ve just always … been interested to see things from others’ point of view,” Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick, like Kane, started getting into theater at a young age, going to camps as he could. But he never thought he’d pursue it after high school.

Stephenson, he said, brought a direction he hadn’t really seen, and after becoming interested in the technical side of theater, he now plans to pursue theater as a career.

“I really enjoy telling a story, and I want to impact people,” Kirkpatrick said.

Josh Norris wasn’t exposed to the performing arts until middle school, when he was part of the band. Norris sang at Carnegie Hall as a freshman at Vestavia Hills High School and then tried out for a musical.

“I loved it at first sight,” Norris said. “It’s been a great journey to go through and learning under Ms. Stephenson.”

Theater has also taught him work ethic, something he needed coming into high school, Norris said. Being in plays also has other practical effects, such as helping students be able to give public speeches or have confidence in other classes.

Taking part in visual storytelling also “opens the heart” in ways nothing else can, he said.

“I never leave a theater without feeling something … wanting to change the world, or just be in it,” Kane said.

Theater students form a family, the students said. Kirkpatrick and Norris both said that, during their first performances, they were nervous and didn’t know what to expect, but older students befriended them and took them under their wings.

Now, having been a part of numerous musicals each and preparing for their last few shows as Vestavia students, the students have learned how to rehearse and prepare for plays.

“Memorization is the base on which the pyramid is built,” Kirkpatrick said.

When he receives his role, Kirkpatrick said he spends a lot of time researching the context of the play, the history of the characters and tries to get inside their heads and learn them as best as he can. Kane said she does the same.

“I kind of go crazy and do a whole bunch of research,” Kane said. “We all work together and make a show.”

Norris said everyone gives their whole heart into productions, but while they work hard, they also play hard.

Kane noted that most of the theater students aren’t just theater students. After they spend time rehearsing for plays, they go home to do homework for other classes, he said.

With a cast of about 80 students, “Legally Blonde” will be a culmination of hard work and effort by many students.

For Kane, Kirkpatrick and Norris, it represents a chance to finish their high school careers strong before they go on to their next adventure. Kane said she plans to use her theater education degree to impact students’ lives the way Stephenson has impacted her students.

Kirkpatrick said he plans to go to college and obtain a bachelor of fine arts degree in musical theater and hopefully a minor in lighting design. While he plans to audition for roles as an actor, he said he just wants to stay close to the theater business in any way possible.

Norris plans to attend either the University of Alabama at Birmingham or Brigham Young University, where he will pursue a bachelor of fine arts degree and then hopefully work around the country. “I want to see as much as possible,” he said.