New Jersey Stage November 2014 | Page 55

Villagers, Kids on Stage, and Plays in the Park. I had my first professional job as a singing waitress with Show Place Ice Cream Parlour in Long Beach Island! Tell me about your high school experiences, especially Lucky Stiff. In high school I made the full switch to performing and became the theater nerd I am today. When my high school director, Sally Siegrist, announced Lucky Stiff as the musical my senior year, I remember saying “Lucky what?” A musical I had never heard of! I was hoping there was something in it for me. I got cast as Rita La Porta, a Jersey loudmouth caught in a major pickle and one of the show’s four leads. I was in utter heaven being in this show, getting to play opposite my best friends, and proving to myself that I could handle such a big role in a musical. I was one of the four judges who nominated you for a Rising Star Award which led to you attending Paper Mill’s Musical Theatre Conservatory. What was that experience like? Thank you, thank you, thank you! That Paper Mill scholarship seriously changed my Watch Tara Tagliaferro & Patrick Roberts Advertise here for $25 - $100 call 732-280-7625 pg 55