5 minute read
The Greatest Showgirl
THE GREATEST SHOWGIRL
erin cearlock’s journey through the stars
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BY MANAGING EDITOR BRANDON CHEUNG
The clock struck 7 p.m. as the audience waited in anticipation, intensely gazing at the bright red curtain obscuring their view. Sophomore Erin Cearlock, who was seven years old at the time, took a deep breath, shook off the nerves and readied herself. Slowly, the audience came into view as the curtains began to part. Les Misérables was starting.
Through Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS), Cearlock was offered the opportunity to tour on Broadway for the 25th Anniversary Tour of the famous musical, Les Misérables.
“My parents actually had me in sports when I was really little, and I sucked at them. Both of my parents played sports,” Cearlock said. “I was taken to go see Mary Poppins at the Hobby Center, and I said, ‘Mom, I want to do that. It looks really fun.’ I started doing summer camps around Houston, and I went to the Humphrey School of Musical Theatre and Dance
at TUTS downtown, which is a musical theater academy.”
She spent a year and a half on tour with the cast traveling to 55 different cities across the United States and Canada performing as Little Cosette and Young Eponine.
“Les Misérables was the show I was in for a year and a half, so I did that show about 530 times,” Cearlock said. “I think the first show I ever did was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Some of my favorites were White Christmas at the Hobby Center, and when I lived in Washington D.C, I was Baby June in Gypsy. I actually got nominated as Supporting Actress at the D.C Theatre Awards. I also got to do Into The Woods where I was Little Red. My top favorite would definitely be Les Misérables.”
Almost every Monday, Cearlock would take a plane with her mother and fly to a different city for the Broadway tour.
“My mom traveled with me, and my dad visited every other weekend because he still
worked in Houston,” Cearlock said. “I did eight shows a week, and each week, we would be in a different city. I was in San Francisco for two months, and then I was in Charleston for a week, so it just depended on how long they booked the theater for.”
Despite being so busy, Cearlock always explored each city she visited with her mother, as her family has an interest in traveling.
“We didn’t really get the chance to [travel] before the tour,” Cearlock said. “My favorite cities all have to do with some fun memory I had with my family. One of my favorite cities was Greenville, South Carolina. The theater was really nice, and it had a really cute main street with a really good bakery. I also really liked Seattle because I love rain. My third favorite would have to be Washington D.C.”
Traveling across the continent to perform at 55 cities has influenced her perspective on different career paths.
“Having the opportunity to
go on tour and to see how the entire country lived differently really opened up my eyes to how big the world is,” Cearlock said. “[It showed me] how musical theater, and music in general, brings everyone together because it didn’t matter if we were in Michigan or California. There were still a lot of people who came to see the show, and it moved them in a certain way. I think it also impacted my career choice today: a foreign service officer for the state department. You travel around, and every two years, you go to a different country. I think [my career path] started because of [the] tour.”
In addition to the many experiences in different cities that had influenced Cearlock’s choice of career, her parents also had a huge impact on her decision to pursue public service.
“Both of my parents were FBI agents. My mom quit when she had me, and my dad retired about five years ago. Now, he basically does the same thing at another company,” Cearlock said. “I think it definitely affected me wanting to go into public service, become a diplomat and represent my country abroad. I’ve always had that mindset, and I think that definitely came from my parents. My dad is a Mandarin speaker, so I want to learn Mandarin and focus on East Asia. I want to major in international studies and economics and minor in East Asian studies. I would love todo something that involves traveling and helping people. I love government and public policy, so I think working in the state department would be cool, or even working for the United Nations or [dealing with] international business.”
Although Cearlock has worked professionally as an actress, she is uncertain on whether or not she would partake in another Broadway tour.
“If I was blessed enough to have a opportunity on another Broadway show or tour, it would be something I would have to sit down with my family to talk about,” Cearlock said. “The hardest part [about touring] was being away from my dad. I think it would be really hard for me to leave high school because I love band so much, and I am so involved at Cy Woods.”
Despite starting at such a young age, Cearlock never felt the pressure of performing alongside skilled actors and actresses. Instead, she was more critical of her own performance.
“I was a little oblivious, but I think as I got older, it wasn’t necessarily pressure,” Cearlock said. “I was definitely really nervous as I held myself to a high standard. I would beat myself up if I didn’t do as well as I wanted to that night. It was mostly pressure for myself to do well, not necessarily from other people because everyone was so supportive.”
While on the anniversary tour of Les Misérables, Cearlock experienced many memorable moments such as passing out on stage.
“There’s one scene where Cosette, the character I played, runs out of the inn, which is where the main scene takes place, and I had this big bucket because she was sent out to the well to get water,” Cearlock said. “I was running up the stairs, and I tripped and hit my head on a ledge. I was out cold for a solid 30 seconds on stage, and the show was just going on behind me while I was just passed out. When I woke up, I was confused and just crawled off stage. I had to go back out in five minutes, so they had an ice pack on my forehead, and I was drinking water.”
Despite the mishap during the show, Cearlock managed to recover and learned from the incident.
“No one’s perfect,” Cearlock said. “We messed up sometimes, but when we did, we just got better and tried to fix it the next time.”
In addition to fainting while performing, Cearlock met former Vice President Joe Biden at the Washington D.C show.
“Joe Biden actually came to our show,” Cearlock said. “Obama couldn’t come because there were too many gunshots in [Les Misérables], so the secret service was scared that they weren’t going to be able to tell whether it was real or not.”
Despite the fact that Cearlock spent a year and a half professionally touring on Broadway, she discovered new interests during high school such as marching band, Model UN, Key Club,Student Senate and French Club. Currently, she enjoys band the most and plans on continuing throughout college as well.
“As you get older, you change,” Cearlock said. “I did theater for a solid half of my life, and it was some of my best memories which will always have a special place in my heart for shaping me into who I am today. I’ve definitely moved on to band and french horn, but I could see myself as a 40-year-old doing community theater wherever I live. If I had the opportunity to [act], I would take it, but I don’t think I would do it professionally. I loved theater, not really for being on the stage and being in the spotlight, but because it was a way to express myself and communicate with other people.”
- Sophomore Erin Cearlock
