TOWAMENCIN – Senior year is supposedly the most relaxing year of high school, besides the college application process. Most seniors use this year to kick back and relax but not North Penn Senior Elizabeth Jebran. Jebran is tackling countless clubs, applying to many scholarships and acting as different princesses.
Jebran is an active member in women’s chambers and the cornerstone choir, National Honor Society, Key Club, Thespian Troupe, and both the fall play and spring musical. Outside of North Penn, she’s a hostess for the Once Upon a Dream Company.
“As a child, you always wanted to meet a princess. The company I work for has princesses come to children’s birthday parties” explained Jebran “My job is to make sure that everything is set up; I also face paint, and I try to keep the imagination alive for the kids.”
When she’s not making every little girl’s dream come true, Jebran is heavily involved in theater and music programs in and out of North Penn. Like most, it started at a young age.
“It’s actually kind of funny. My favorite thing, something I loved to do ever since I was a little kid, was sing. I wanted to be strictly a singer. As soon as I was in elementary school, my music teacher told me I should do the musical. I participated in fourth grade, and I loved it so much. I said ‘ok, this is what I’m going to do with my life’.”
Aside from singing and acting, Jebran has also played guitar and piano since the age of four, with three years of lessons of both, and she has also taken voice lessons for four years.
For Jebran, it is not exactly about getting the best role or having the most lines, but rather it is truly about the most important aspect of any play or musical: the characters.
“I love putting myself in other peoples’ shoes. I think it’s fascinating to live someone else’s life. Whenever I’m feeling stressed, I can just take a moment and live someone else’s story. I like living and portraying someone else’s story.”
Like most ambitious students in high school, handling school work, job(s), and activities can be a heavy task. Throughout the years, however, Jebran has learned to handle it all.
“It took a lot of practice. It can be very stressful, but, I think as long as you know your priorities, everything will come together in the end” said Jebran “I also take voice lessons, and whenever I’m doing my homework, I’m listening to the songs in my head and I’m practicing that way. You really have to learn how to do time management, and I think that North Penn Theater has really taught me to do that. [The plays and musicals] are really time consuming, but it’s worth it.”
Soon, Jebran will be out of high school and onto the next great adventure of life: college.
With all of her college applications in, Jebran now has to prepare for auditions. Even though they may be daunting, Jebran has had plenty of practice. Every year, she has attended the Pennsylvania State Thespian Conference, and each year has performed some sort of talent. In sophomore year she participated in an IE (individual event), junior year she had a junior audition, and this year is a senior scholarship.
“[The senior scholarship] is essentially the same as the junior audition, except this time you can be offered money. You can either do a two minute monologue, a minute of a monologue and a minute of a song, or you can do two minutes of strictly a song. Last year for my junior audition I did strictly a song, but I love acting and I love musical theater, so I thought maybe this year it would be best to incorporate both; so, I am doing the one minute of a monologue and one minute of a song.”
In this year’s fall show As You Like It, Jebran plays Alice, a grandmotherly figure and servant to two other characters. She strongly encourages all to go see the performances on November 19th-21st at 7:30 pm, and November 22nd at 2:00 pm. Like most who do theater, Jebran recommends anyone and everyone to join.
“You don’t have to do theater in your future if you don’t want to, but if you do theater, it can be incorporated into other parts of your life. It is very good for your public speaking, it is very good for building your confidence, and I personally find it as a great stress reliever” said Jebran “There are plenty of ways to get involved: you could do behind the scenes if you are not really passionate about being on stage, and you can do sets, props, or costumes. There are so many aspects to theater, and it is very simple to get involved, all you have to do is go to your local theater or even right here [at the high school].”