With her training and experience as a dancer, Centreville High junior Paige Williams is a natural to share the lead with senior Sarah Villyard in "Fame." It's their school's Cappie entry and will be presented April 29-May 1.
"I think people will enjoy it because of the musical numbers and the size of the cast," said Williams. "Plus, it's set in the '80s, so it's going to be a fun experience. And because of the talent in our school, we can share the lead and it's going to come out good, no matter who's [on stage]."
A member of Chantilly's Encore Theatrical Arts Project since it began in 1996, Williams, 16, has danced in many of its musical productions over the years. And she'll perform in its June 5-6 show, "The World of the Stage."
One of her favorite productions was "The World at Your Feet" in 2000. "It was so amazing because we got to perform dances in the styles of all these different countries," she said. "For France, we did the can can; for Spain, the paso doble; and for Brazil, we did our version of Carnivale."
And in July, Williams and the other Encore members have been invited to return to China to perform their Christmas show, "Let it Snow," in three cities.
She joined Centreville's theater last year, dancing in "Pippin." This year, she portrayed Van Helsing in "Dracula." And in the school's one-act play festival, Feb. 19-21, she sang and acted in students Rick Mathews' and Ben Myers' musical, "Rocked."
IN "FAME," when Villyard plays the lead role of Carmen, Williams will portray Carmen's best friend, Mabel. "She's struggling to be a dancing student, but is having a hard time getting over her love of food," said Williams. "Mabel is so much fun because she's comedic, and [the part] allows you to go pretty far with what you put into the character."
On the other hand, she said, Carmen's a "driven, ambitious teen-ager whose dream consumes her until it ends up being her downfall." She said Carmen's difficult to play because "you've got someone who has so much spirit — and it keeps on being tested. She's got a lot of pride, so she doesn't easily show people her disappointment or doubt. She has to act like this dream will never die."
Even so, said Williams, she's fun to play because "you've got so many different emotions to deal with and try to portray. I like how she can do everything — she sings, dances and acts. And it's a learning experience for both Sarah and I because we're all used to doing [just] one of those things at a time."
She said her Encore training helped, at times, because "Fame's" a musical and "things can get so hectic that you need to be able to deal with all the things that need attention. But at the same time, you have to remember you have a character that you are acting out. So you bring a little bit of both [dance and theater] experience, or it wouldn't work, at all."
WILLIAMS ALSO HOPES that it'll someday work out as a career. "I saw 'Wicked' last year on Broadway, in the Gershwin Theatre, and it was the most fantastic thing I'd ever seen in my entire life," she said. "When you're a performer and see professional performances, you feel, 'Oh, I wanna get up there and do it.' When I saw 'Wicked,' I felt like there'd be a part of me that I wouldn't experience if I didn't at least try to do it for a living."
First, though, she plans to attend Oklahoma City University. "Two of the girls from Encore will be there, too, and they say it's wonderful for our kind of performance," she said. Besides, added Williams, "I'd like to learn a little more before I put myself out into the real world."