Following the Yellow Brick Road to College and Career Development


Sophia Shaw likely caught the acting bug at an early age, playing Dorothy Gale in a family production of the Wizard of Oz. Although she has no firsthand memory of the play, she still enjoys watching a family videotape of that performance now and again.


“I was about 18-months-old at the time, and my mother and brother were the supporting cast,” Sophia, a Concord High School senior said. “It’s a lot of fun to watch how serious I was about acting at such an early age.”


Sophia has spent most of her high school career in the CRTC Theater & Film program, completing the Acting strand in her freshman and sophomore years, and now taking the Production and Design strand in her senior year. She also has gathered some educational and professional credits working at the Palace Theater in Manchester, where she recently starred as Snow White in the Palace Professional Theater for Children’s summer series production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.


Other productions she’s acted in at the Palace Theater include A Chorus Line, when she was just 14, Flashdance and Mama Mia, which halted production in the spring of 2020 due to COVID restrictions halfway through it’s run.


"Sophia is an extremely talented, dedicated and hard working person and performer,” said CRTC Theater & Film teacher Clint Klose. “She is already making a name for herself in the professional theater world and has the necessary tools and drive to pursue this as her career."


Sophia is a neighbor of Mr. Klose, and was in his music class at Beaver Meadow School. When she got to the high school level, Mr. Klose urged her to apply to the CRTC Theater & Film program to study Acting.


“As soon as I joined I knew it was super fun,” she said. “This program was an opportunity to work on something I loved every single day. I didn’t think I would be able to do that as a high school student.”


This year Sophia is preparing to apply to colleges, seeking a BFA in Musical Theater. As part of that preparation, she will be utilizing her CRTC Production and Design skills to produce a pre-screen video showcasing her singing, dancing and acting skills, which will be attached to her applications to help colleges determine whether or not she will be invited to audition for a place in their program.


“The ultimate dream is Broadway, but the goal is to stay involved in the theater in some capacity for my whole life,” Sophia said. “I just want to keep performing for as long as I can.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  April is Admissions Month at CRTC Over the past several weeks CRTC staff has had to make some pretty tough decisions as they’ve sifted through applications to determine the make up September’s Year I classes, and have carefully reviewed each first year student’s SPUR assessments to decide who would be invited back to complete their second year. Year I students and new applicants already should have received notification letters or emails that inform them of their status and provide instructions for next steps. Any student who has not yet received notification should talk to their CRTC teacher or call the CRTC office. Each year we have more qualified students than we have open seats in our programs, so it’s necessary to make some difficult decisions. Some students who are not outright accepted or invited back have been placed on a waitlist for any available openings before the next school year, or have been asked to sign a conditional contract, which outlines a number of steps student
Read more
Image
  Meet Our Teachers:  Gail Beaudoin, Criminal Justice CRTC programs are a blend of rigorous academics and applied learning that provide students with the opportunity to explore their interests, talents and career ambitions. The lynchpin in these programs is the unique character of the CRTC teacher, who typically has years of industry experience before making the transition to the classroom.  The CRTC Criminal Justice teacher, Gail Beaudoin, has over three decades of law enforcement experience, including 11 years as a Criminal Bureau detective, and was the first female in the Chelmsford, MA, Police Department to attain the rank of Lieutenant. She holds a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from UMass, and spent 15 years as an adjunct professor in Criminal Justice at UMass, Lowell. Learn a little more about our Criminal Justice teacher by reading this month’s CRTC Teacher Q & A . How long have you been a Career and Technical Education teacher? I’ve been teaching Criminal Justice at t
Read more
Image
  Meet Our Staff: Kathy Connor, CRTC Administrative Assistant The CRTC serves almost 700 students from nine regional school districts offering 11 career pathway programs. The CRTC’s two administrative assistants work to coordinate program funding, facilitate student transportation and liaison with parents, industry partners and sending school administrations. They are the face of CRTC in the front office, as well as a sympathetic ear handling a constant stream of student questions and concerns. Learn a little more about our new CRTC Administrative Assistant Kathy Connor by reading this month’s CRTC Teacher Q&A. How long have you worked in Career and Technical Education? This is my first position in an educational setting. I am looking forward to learning more about it as I progress in my job. What industry experience did you bring to your position in the CRTC? I have worked in the administrative field since I graduated high school. Business/Secretarial was my major. I have experien
Read more