ARTIST PROFILE

A PASSION FOR ACTING

A look into the acting career of Esme Chin-Parker

Top 5 of 25

BY GABBIE SARGENT Since she started acting in second grade, Chin-Parker has a appearred in over 30 roles in 25 different plays and musical. Here she shares her favorite roles.

1WALK TWO MOONS Phoebe from "Walk Two Moons" ranked number one onChin-Parker’s list. “This character was so much fun to play! Especially since I got to act like a conspiracy theory obsessed child. And be insanely annoying to everyone else on stage,” Chin-Parker said. 2LES MISERABLES Enjoiras from "Les Miserables" comes in second. Chin-Parker says that “this role started [her] less-than-healthy obsession with Victor Hugo, and also let [her] pretend to shoot fancy fake guns.”

BY ABIGAIL TRACY Esme Chin-Parker is a senior whose passion for acting is a big part of her life. She was cast in this year’s fall play “Last Day of School.” Chin-Parker has acted since second grade, making this year her tenth year. to her. “My favorite musical I’ve acted in is 'Les Miserables,'” she said. Chin-Parker played the role of Enjolras in her middle school years and since then, she is obsessed with the novel. “Like reading all 1000+ pages in a few months kind of obsessed,” she said. While her favorite production is Les Miserables, her favorite role is Phoebe in "Walk Two Moons." “I

“Embarrassingly enough, the only reason I started acting got overly into the role, and attempting to capture the manic was because my sister had done a theatre camp one summer, energy of a conspiracy-theory obsessed middle schooler, was and (being, like, seven) I wanted to be like her,” she said. “I can really fun,” Chin-Parker said. blame sibling jealousy on the initial jump into acting.” “Since then, the role has been haunting me- I see my cos-

Since then, her passion for acting has evolved and led her to tume pieces from the show just floating around the school accomplish around thirty different roles and on an almost-daily basis. Not to mention a grand total of twenty five plays/musicals. Chin-Parker not only performs in plays and “The only bad the disturbing amount of times that I’ve realized I now dress like a slightly edgy musicals at Granville, but she also performs in productions at Weathervane Playhouse in acting is when version of her. Of course, it doesn’t exactly help that I learned how much I like wearing Newark. “Thanks to COVID-19-19, I haven’t been the actor is too headbands because of the show.” In the fall play, Chin-Parker played Bethdoing much non-GHS acting recently,” Chin-Parker said, but coronavirus is not uncomfortable any Peot, a girl who has been the school announcer for three years. stopping her from being involved in Granville’s fall production where she is casted as to really be “She has an existential crisis and locks herself in the A.V room, taking over the Bethany Peot. There are several opinions on plays and themselves. ” school’s speakers and forcing everyone to listen to Mr Roboto on repeat,” she exmusicals out there. Whether someone enjoys -ESME CHIN-PARKER plained. both, or prefers one over the other. With the “I am excited to see it all come together!” amount of experience in acting and watching Chin-Parker said. Due to COVID-19, rehearsplays and musicals, Chin-Parker has developed her own opin- als were limited to only a few actors at a time, so the whole cast ions on the two. was not able to see the whole play and everyone together until

“I prefer watching musicals, but I prefer acting in plays,” she the week before the show. said. “The writing [in musicals] tends to be ignored in favor of “I’m more-than-excited to finally see everything put together flashy singing and dancing.” While she still loves acting in musi- in a cohesive show.” cals, according to Esme, the script can sometimes be described A word of advice to young aspiring actors from Chin-Parker: as “bare-bones.” “Just jump into it! I know it may seem a little intimidating, but

With as many plays, musicals, big roles and small roles, everyone in the program is here to support you. And don’t hold Chin-Parker has accomplished, she has developed favorites. back during auditions. The only real bad acting is when the acProductions and roles she finds most intriguing and special tor is too uncomfortable to really be themselves. So go all out!”

3CATS Old Deuteronpmy from the performance "Cats" holdsChin-Parker's third favorite role she has received the chance to play. Chin-Parker tells that “this role was pretty cursed, especially since the 'Cats' movie came out last year. But [she] had a lot of fun! Being the Alpha Cat in a musical disaster will always be one of [her] most cherished roles.”

4INTO THE WOODS The Witch from "Into the Woods' was also a special role for Chin-Parker. Sadly this play was never brought to stage because of COVID-19. Chin-Parker feels that “the Witch was such an interesting role to take on. [It was] super vocally demanding, with complicated acting that was tons of fun.” 5THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL Last but not least is Bethany from "The Last Day of School," this year's Drama Club fall performance.. Chin-Parker has had “a great time working with this character.” Chin-Parker compares Debby Ryan from the popular movie Radio Rebel to Bethany. She also says that her role has “many, many paragraphs of uninterrupted text.”