Our family; Maya, Mark, Shannon and Sierra and mutt Tasha!
Welcome to our blog! We are so excited to have you share in Sierra’s journey to become an actress on Broadway. In April of 2012, she was accepted at the American Music and Dramatic Academy or AMDA in NYC. Sisi has a passion for all things Broadway. Although we live in a rural area of western Massachusetts, and she has only been to two Broadway shows (Lion King and Wicked), she has infused her life with Broadway related inspirations.
But more than the Broadway things, Sisi is filled with the energy, and passion for performance. Sierra discovered this magic in 3rd grade when she was assigned a big part in her Waldorf School class play. The other kids were quite concerned , as were we, because Sierra struggled with social interactions and was often shy and withdrawn in a crowd. What a shock to see her literally come to life, all shyness wiped away as she confidently delivered those lines. She was hooked! Several years and class plays later, she discovered community theater, bringing her interest and ability to a new level. On the stages of Amherst and Turners Falls, with her dazed parents along for the ride , we all discovered the joy and excitement of bigger productions and more importantly, the loyal and enthusiastic world of community theater.
When college brochures started coming in the mail, Sisi made it clear she was focused and ready for the hard work and dedication needed…to become a “triple threat” (which did not mean reading, writing and arithmatic!) and had no interest in a traditional four year college. We were terrified.
A triple threat, if you don’t know, means excelling at acting, dance and voice. Letting go of the safe, little liberal arts college concept has been an ongoing process for us and I still have a few restless 2am worry sessions. But Sierra is a persistent and single focused young woman and it soon became clear to me that this was one of those critical parenting moments where I could resist and control, or let go and support her. She just glows when she talks about AMDA, her passion just infusing all of who she is. Someone has to take those Broadway roles…why not her?
Love, Shannon (and Mark), Sierra’s mother and father
