Artists in action

Story and photos by Anika Sachdeva and Alice Xie

Emily Von Busch

Inspired by her mother, West Ranch senior Emily Von Busch found her passion for theater at a young age. Initially, Von Busch joined her elementary school’s theater program, where she played many roles including the mermaid in “Peter Pan,” the Madhatter in “Alice in Wonderland” and the Tinman in “Wizard of Oz.” She has recently participated in many school and community theater programs.

She continued her journey at West Ranch where she played Sandy in the musical “Grease” and the strawberry seller in “Oliver.” Her favorite has such an interesting and creative mind. He was just super cool and exciting to work with. He had so many visions and it was really cool to see them put on stage,” she expressed.

To pursue her passion, Von Busch plans to attend College of the Canyons and transfer to a performing arts school. “I am really excited to continue my acting because musical theater is also something I am really passionate about. I have been working on my voice, and on my dancing.”

“I always wanted to be up on stage in front of people and I like performing for people. I like making people smile. I like making people laugh. I like getting reactions out of them,” Von Busch explained.

Shannon lee

Growing up as an avid consumer of animated video games and TV shows, West Ranch senior Shannon Lee found her passion in entertainment design. More specifically, Lee plans to pursue concept art and design at ArtCenter College of Design, in the hopes that one day, she will be able to create art and characters for the films and games she grew up with.

Throughout high school, Lee has worked individually on a few different projects, which has pushed her to embrace her interest in character design. “I’m working for a volunteerbased animation group where I’ve been working as a concept character designer, and I think that really carried over to what I want to do in the future. [The group] is full of people who are already working in the field, so they’ve mentored and helped me,” Lee explained.

Lee noted that of the various projects and art pieces that she’s done, her favorites tend to be the ones inspired by games and films she enjoys: “I do my own versions of the characters and backgrounds [from] games that I’ve been playing. Shows and games that have inspired me include Arcane, Genshin Impact and Overwatch.”

As she progresses into the entertainment industry, Lee explained that she is most excited to “talk to other people who have similar interests and to be able to work on a project that other people are also excited about.”

When asked about what she looks forward to most in her future career, Lee said: “Honestly, it’s the [fact] that one day, you can be part of those things that you really enjoyed when you were younger.”