Thanks to Center Players, I found my passions for music and performing arts, as well as a sense of community and belonging early in my life. CP was a place for me to learn self-expression, diligence, and even some fundamental leadership skills. The lessons in developing my talents and working as part of a larger team/ensemble have been invaluable to my progression as a student, friend, and soon a physician! I will forever be grateful for the opportunities that CP gave to me as a child and young adult.

Joining the Center Players as a child was life-changing in so many ways. Not only did it inspire a passion in me for singing and performing, it also introduced me to my life-long best friends and taught me skills I’ve been able to use in every area of my life. The Center Players taught me how to express my emotions, work with others, confidently speak in front of people, and think creatively. Most importantly, The Center Players taught me about the power of community and allowed me to interact with so many people from our community in Elizabeth City, which I will be forever grateful for. After The Center Players, I continued to be involved in theater and music and still sing and perform to this day. I will always remember The Center Players as the first place where I really felt I belonged. The Center Players would have been a treasure and changemaker even in the biggest city, so to have it in such a small town truly felt too good to be true.

There are few parts of me that cannot be traced back to the influence that Center Players had on my upbringing. I have probably learned every people skill that I use in daily life from working with an ensemble and learning from the many mentors I encountered in my years with the company. Center Players introduced me to my life’s passion, is the reason I live in New York City to pursue a life of performing, and gave me a circle of family that hold me up and support me to this day. Every child deserves to grow up and feel as seen and understood as I did under the roof of AOA. I’m so grateful for my childhood and all that this place will continue to mean to me for the rest of my life!

I will always remember my introduction to the Center Players. I was on a field trip to see the production of Annie Jr. Leaving the performance so excited and inspired, I went home and told my parents that I had to audition. I knew I had to be on that stage performing for people no matter what it took. While in the program, I gained a sense of identity and community in the theater that I had not previously found anywhere else. This new found sense of self encouraged me to pursue the arts as a career. I am now completing a fellowship at Lincoln Center Education in New York City where I work with K-12 students integrating the performing and visual arts into their curriculum. I am so fortunate to have been a part of the Center Players program and would recommend anyone to sign-up!