One Fish, Two Fish, I'd Like to be a Red Fish!

by Keely Savitt

When I was four I was in the Nutcracker in Portland, Oregon and I loved being on stage!  I have loved dancing and singing since I was really little.  I figured out that I loved acting too when we moved to Milwaukee.  My mom got me involved with some community theatre and then someone invited us to the First Stage Make Believe Ball.  People there told us about the Academy classes and all the shows.  I signed up for Summer Academy and it was so much fun because you really got to bring your inner person out.  My school classes started going to see the First Stage shows and I really loved them!  My mom found out about auditioning which I tried and I received my first callback for a show.  I didn’t get the part but that was okay because I went to see the show and it make me think more about the character.  I kept taking First Stage classes during the summer, during spring break and on weekends.  It’s so much fun to meet lots of new people and I love working on my acting skills.  I auditioned again the next year and I got in a show which was so exciting! 

Keely in First Stage's Pinocchio

Now I have been in three shows with First Stage and each one has been a different experience.  I love being in “Seussical” because it’s crazy and colorful and funny and has great songs.  Dr. Seuss stories are special because everyone grows up

reading them.  My mom met Dr. Seuss at a friend’s house when she was in high school and he signed her Cat in the Hat book which is so cool!  I love being a Who in the show and the dancing has been much harder in Seussical than the other shows I’ve been in.  But once you get it, it seems so easy and fun!  We practice for a month on weekends and school nights before the show opens.  It helps to listen to the songs and read the script at home so that I am extra prepared when I get to rehearsals.  There are two casts of kids in each show so that we can do lots of shows and everyone gets a chance, and so that if someone gets sick their counterpart is ready to take their place.  For Seussical I am in the “Red Fish Cast” but I love it when we rehearse with the “Blue Fish Cast” as well so that I can see everyone together.  I look forward to doing many more shows with First Stage and I wish that everyone can have an experience as fun as this one!