For most high school students, theatre is an extracurricular school activity, limited to school hours. To freshman Julia Fugger, however, it’s so much more. Her theatre repertoire goes well beyond a school club, digging deep into local community theatre companies. At only 15-years old, Fugger has been in more shows than the majority of the drama club seniors at Noll.

  Fugger has been active in the theatre community since the fourth grade. Her first taste of the stage was as a chorus girl in a grade school musical. Since then, she has acted in ten shows.

  “My favorite role that I have ever played was in the musical ‘Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?’ at the Towle Theater [in Hammond]. The show was all about growing up in Catholic school and how this group of kids grew up and changed,” she said.

  In this play, Fugger played the lead female role of Becky. The transition into school plays was not something Fugger expected to do, however.

  Her first show at Noll was this spring’s musical Seussical the Musical where she played one of the leads, Jojo. Because of a conflict with another show in community theater, Fugger did not participate in Noll’s fall play. And originally, it was her commitment to the local arts that kept her away from the high school stage in the first place.

  “I honestly did not want to join theater at all at first,” she said. “Maybe stage crew but never go on stage. I was not scared or anything I just was not interested.”

  However, after some discussion with the play’s directors, Fugger decided to make the transition to high school theater.

  “I probably will do more theater here at BNI,” Fugger said. “I won’t be able to do the play but I definitely will make a point to audition for the musical.”

  She has had plenty of experience outside of BNI but says her time acting here has been great and that it’s been fun meeting new people. Next year, she plans to write and direct her own show here for the One-Acts.

  “I probably will do more theater here at BNI. I won’t be able to do the [fall] play, but I definitely will make a point to audition for the musical.”