An acting lesson with Ms. Shinnick
Megan Shinnick '16 has dedicated much of her high school career to acting and helping teach acting, an extracurricular that has inspired her to pursue a similar career.
Photo by Rachel Landau '16
Photo by Rachel Landau '16
Laughing, shouting, singing and even crying at times, Megan Shinnick's voice can be heard all the way at the end of the Wellesley High School west wing hallway, traveling down from the Little Theatre. For anyone who happens to hear Shinnick rehearsing, her love for the stage is obvious.
Shinnick, Class of 2016, who participates in Acting IV, improv troupe, all the school plays, and the student-run a cappella group Incoordination, began acting in middle school but found her true calling in the theater department upon entering high school. After auditioning for a cappella she found "I really liked the theater kid vibe — that's when I started doing lots and lots of shows. (I thought) I really like this sense of humor; I feel like I fit in well," adding, "It's an environment in which I feel really comfortable."
With a distinct philosophy on acting, Shinnick believes in transferring her own personality into her characters.
"I think it's really cool to take your experiences and translate them into a character, translate them into something tangible that other people can see. I really like working on these people that don't theoretically exist and making them exist," she says.
Shinnick cites her experience acting as Jan in "Grease" as a time when she channeled her own life experiences into the character. She had to draw on experiences being heart centered and "channel (her) inner middle-schooler" to fulfill the role.
Maria Kelley, Class of 2017, acted in the recent one-act play Shinnick directed, and she found that Megan transferred this acting philosophy onto her actors as well.
"She always allowed us to come up with our own ideas behind the characters and encouraged us to draw on real-life emotions to connect with the character," Kelley says.
As part of the high school's annual winter One-Act Festival, Shinnick directed "Funeral Parlor," a show by Chris Durang that tells the short story of a straightlaced woman at her husband's funeral and follows her transformation as she meets a crazy stranger. For Shinnick, directing a one-act taught her skills for both acting and direction, especially noticing and harnessing her actors' instincts to realize her vision. This effort to collaborate with her actors did not go unnoticed.
"She was such a great director because she really paid attention to what the actors were feeling when we said our lines," Kelley says.
Shinnick is in her second year of serving as a teacher's assistant (TA) for Acting I. Both acting as a TA and directing a one-act have led Shinnick to decide to continue performing and teaching performance in college and beyond.
"Once I (was a) TA last year, I loved it. Directing my one-act, I knew, this is what I want to do... I've always known I want to pursue the performing arts, but I think directing and teaching is more my thing. I love acting more than anything, but believe that (directing and teaching) is something I'm better at," she says, adding that she plans on pursuing theater education in college.
"Teaching drama is literally perfect. I am very envious of Wro (WHS Drama Specialist, Stephen Wrobleski). I think he has the most amazing job in the world to wake up and do this every day. It's just incredible."
After her four years in the high school drama department, Shinnick's passion for the art and for her peers and teachers is beyond apparent. "I just love it," she said. "I love the work I'm doing."
This article was published in The Wellesley Townsman on January 28, 2016.
Shinnick, Class of 2016, who participates in Acting IV, improv troupe, all the school plays, and the student-run a cappella group Incoordination, began acting in middle school but found her true calling in the theater department upon entering high school. After auditioning for a cappella she found "I really liked the theater kid vibe — that's when I started doing lots and lots of shows. (I thought) I really like this sense of humor; I feel like I fit in well," adding, "It's an environment in which I feel really comfortable."
With a distinct philosophy on acting, Shinnick believes in transferring her own personality into her characters.
"I think it's really cool to take your experiences and translate them into a character, translate them into something tangible that other people can see. I really like working on these people that don't theoretically exist and making them exist," she says.
Shinnick cites her experience acting as Jan in "Grease" as a time when she channeled her own life experiences into the character. She had to draw on experiences being heart centered and "channel (her) inner middle-schooler" to fulfill the role.
Maria Kelley, Class of 2017, acted in the recent one-act play Shinnick directed, and she found that Megan transferred this acting philosophy onto her actors as well.
"She always allowed us to come up with our own ideas behind the characters and encouraged us to draw on real-life emotions to connect with the character," Kelley says.
As part of the high school's annual winter One-Act Festival, Shinnick directed "Funeral Parlor," a show by Chris Durang that tells the short story of a straightlaced woman at her husband's funeral and follows her transformation as she meets a crazy stranger. For Shinnick, directing a one-act taught her skills for both acting and direction, especially noticing and harnessing her actors' instincts to realize her vision. This effort to collaborate with her actors did not go unnoticed.
"She was such a great director because she really paid attention to what the actors were feeling when we said our lines," Kelley says.
Shinnick is in her second year of serving as a teacher's assistant (TA) for Acting I. Both acting as a TA and directing a one-act have led Shinnick to decide to continue performing and teaching performance in college and beyond.
"Once I (was a) TA last year, I loved it. Directing my one-act, I knew, this is what I want to do... I've always known I want to pursue the performing arts, but I think directing and teaching is more my thing. I love acting more than anything, but believe that (directing and teaching) is something I'm better at," she says, adding that she plans on pursuing theater education in college.
"Teaching drama is literally perfect. I am very envious of Wro (WHS Drama Specialist, Stephen Wrobleski). I think he has the most amazing job in the world to wake up and do this every day. It's just incredible."
After her four years in the high school drama department, Shinnick's passion for the art and for her peers and teachers is beyond apparent. "I just love it," she said. "I love the work I'm doing."
This article was published in The Wellesley Townsman on January 28, 2016.