New Oxford resident Chelsea McLean is already starting to make her mark – the 13-year-old was recently selected for a lead role in The Clarkston Village Player’s newest production Trophies.
“I’m really excited to be doing this,” said McLean, a student at Oxford Middle School. “At first I wasn’t too keen on it, but then I got to the audition and it was a blast. I had so much fun.”
McLean moved to Oxford with her family – dad Cameron, mom Kelly and 10-year-old brother Sean – this past August, but her acting career began five years ago in Indiana.
“I’ve been acting since I was seven,” said McLean. “My mom and dad took me to an audition for the Wizard of Oz and I got to play a munchkin and a poppy. It was a blast.”
Since then the aspiring actress has been in Brigadoon, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, South Pacific and The Nutcracker. She’s acted in groups in Indiana, Pawpaw, Lapeer and now Clarkston. Her first lead was as Alice in Alice in Wonderland.
McLean said she enjoys performing in plays, but musical theater and singing are her real passions.
“The thrill of singing and dancing in a production is amazing,” she said. “You meet some awesome people doing this.”
In fact, McLean said her goals for the future include “finding a talent agency” and eventually being cast in a Broadway production. In the mean time, she said she’d settle for a shot on American Idol or Star Search.
So what does an active middle-schooler do when she’s not reaching for the stars? McLean said she’s busy with choir, track, cheerleading and the Comic Book Club. In her free time she enjoys drawing, and has taught herself how to read and speak Japanese.
“I was big into Japanese animation and was frustrated when I saw a comic book that looked cool, but I couldn’t understand what it said,” she explained. “So I went out and learned Japanese.”
In the Clarkston Village Players production of Trophies, McLean plays the daughter, Laura, in a family forced to come to grips with their failures and differences after a brain injury strikes the youngest son, leaving him unable to fulfill his father’s wishes of becoming an athlete. When the other children return home for an Easter visit, including Laura, resentments and disappointments finally come to the surface.
“This is very dramatic,” said McLean. “It’s very heart-wrenching. What this family goes through is deep.”
The Clarkston Village Players is located at 4861 White Lake Rd. in Clarkston. Trophies opens this weekend and is set to show March 12-13, 19-21 and 25-27.
For times and ticket information, please call 248-625-8811.