Natalie Brooks

Grade: 11
Future college: My dream school is NYU
Future Job: actress
Years playing clarinet: 6
Inspiration: my mom and brother

Wingspan: When and why did you start playing clarinet?

Brooks: “I started playing clarinet in 6th grade because my mom played the clarinet and my brother was in band at the time and it made me want to join band as well.”

Wingspan: What is it like to balance school, band, and theater?

Brooks: “It can be difficult sometimes especially during marching season dealing with the conflicts between rehearsals and practices. I find time to do my homework during breaks at rehearsals.”

Wingspan: How is the dynamic different from band different from theater?

Brooks: “They’re actually pretty similar in how fast we work and how we do things over and over until we get it. Theatre is definitely different from band because of  the risks we have to take and that we’re always on our feet doing something new. Whereas, in band the music and dynamics are already written down on the page and we sit down the whole time.”

Wingspan: What does theater mean to you?

Brooks: “Theatre is probably the biggest part of my life and one of the most important things to me. I love having fun with my friends and getting to act and sing and take new risks every day especially after a rough day or during a hard time. I love how I get to pretend to be so many different people and personalities on stage.”

Wingspan: How has growing up dancing helped you in theater?

Brooks: “It’s actually helped a lot and I’ve been able to be featured dancer in many shows because of my dance background. I was a competitive dancer for seven years and it has been such a big part of my life and I love that I am able to implement it into theatre as well.”

Wingspan: What’s the biggest challenge of being so involved?

Brooks: “Keeping up with everything. Having to study and memorize lines and practice clarinet is so much but it’s all worth it in the end because I get to do what I love. The only thing is I’m really bad at time management which is my biggest struggle.”

Wingspan: As band has already been quite time consuming on it’s own, what made you want to add theater on top of your plate?

Brooks: “I saw my first Broadway show in New York in 7th grade and I saw two more in 8th grade and that inspired me to do theatre in high school which eventually made me determined to be an actress when I’m older.”

Wingspan: What have you learned about yourself through the arts?

Brooks: “I learned that I can take bigger risks than I thought I could and it has given me more confidence and determination to do my best and get better everyday.”

Wingspan: What is your advice to anyone who wants be so involved in the arts as you?

Brooks: “Make sure that you are able to keep up with everything and try to get your homework done early because it makes it so much easier to manage everything especially if you have a lot of lines to learn for a show. Really work on time management and make sure you’re actually wanting to do all of these things before you decide to take on so much.”