Student Spotlight | Allison Marshall
Allison takes the lead
Freshman Allison Marshall loves the stage, and this year she landed her first lead role with the Wichita Theatre as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.” Allison puts her all into everything she does, so it's no surprise she got the part, alternating performances with another Dorothy.
She's been with the Wichita Theatre since her first role in 2016 in “Winnie the Pooh.” She says for her role as Dorothy, she kept holding out hope through the audition process, and the entire play was a great learning experience. During rehearsals for shows, Allison and her cast spent long hours at the theatre, so staying on top of schoolwork was a challenge at times. When asked if she felt it would have been more challenging had she been at another school, she replied, "100% yes. When I went to [another school] we didn't have laptops or anything...It was at school, and if you missed it, you missed it. There's no really coming back from that. So having the opportunity of having off-campus learning and flexible learning, it really helped me get through that process."
“The main reason I can do what I do is because of the environment I’m surrounded with - so much support, from not only fellow students of mine but teachers and administrators. I’ve had so many people become family here for me.”
Allison has been at Christ Academy since 2018, and she credits her family's decision to make the switch due to CA's academics offering her a more challenging atmosphere. It's clear Allison values her education as this year, she earned the CEO's Honor Roll (awarded to students with a GPA of 4.0 or higher), but she says acting is her passion. At the time of being cast in “The Wizard of Oz,” she was finishing another role in "Footloose" and is in an arts group, Applause, so Allison always has a lot going on with theatre life. "I really look forward to my future. I know I want to go into Arts, but also I need these steps along the way," she said.
Because of our Blended Learning Model, Upper School students have the option to join class remotely when they can't physically be on campus, but Allison said she tried to be at school as much as possible because it was importatnt to her to be present in class and complete her school work at home if necessary. She has great memories of working on homework with her castmates in the greenroom before shows and rehearsals.
With plans to pursue acting in college, she's already looking into schools with robust theatre programs and performing arts colleges. Allison is already cast in her next performance. This summer, you can see her as Annabeth Chase in Wichita Theatre's rendition of “Percy Jackson.” We love that our students are involved in community activities, and we are so proud of Allison!