This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

You Are Invited to "Express Yourself" at the Wilmette Theatre: Talking with Emily Wronski

Emily Wronski talks about her creation of "Express Yourself", an evening of contemporary Broadway's biggest and best musical hits debuting at the Wilmette Theatre on May 20.

Thanks to Emily Wronski, the night of May 20 will not be your typical Monday night. It won't be the start of the week-long slog, it won't matter that the weekend is a distant beacon and no one will care about "Dancing with the Stars." That's because Wronski's musical production, "Express Yourself" debuts at the Wilmette Theatre on Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 7:00 p.m.). The admission price - read on - is an extraordinary bargain for the one-of-a-kind uplifting celebratory experience the evening promises.

"Express Yourself" features the best of recent Broadway music, including numbers from Rent and The Book of Mormon. The songs all have in common the theme of self-expression and its vivid rewards and challenges. Wronski, who graduates from New Trier High School this spring, created "Express Yourself" as her Senior Project. The year-long effort is a professional-grade achievement and an opportunity for audiences to catch some of the North Shore's rising stars. The cast includes Wronski, an accomplished actor and singer, along with other gifted students and graduates of New Trier and the Wilmette Theatre's Actors Training Center.

Proceeds for the evening benefit two causes: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Actors Training Center Scholarship Fund. The suggested donation for admission is five dollars.

Along with enjoying great music and supporting worthwhile causes, the evening has another more intangible benefit. As the theme "Express Yourself" suggests, Wronski believes in the power of finding your unique voice and being unafraid to use it. Happily, her spirit is contagious. Whether you already have a new adventure in store or you're in the wishing stage (like many of us post-post-post college), you will leave the theater feeling inspired and empowered to pursue the life that's waiting for you.

Wronski, who will attend Baldwin Wallace University's renowned music theatre program in the fall, kindly took time to speak with me about the creation of "Express Yourself."

Q: When did you become interested in theater?

A: I did little shows when I was younger, but nothing big or like musical theater. Then when I was in third grade, my mom signed me up for a camp at the Music Institute of Chicago. I really didn't want to do it, but once I did do it, ever since, I've done shows every summer.

Q: When did you decide on theater as a career?

A: My freshman going into sophomore year I did the show Rent at the Actors Training Center and that summer was when I decided I want to do this professionally. This is something I really enjoy doing and something I love learning from and it can teach you so much about life. Not only about performing and being in front of an audience, but it also teaches you about listening to others and communication and how to live each day of life to its fullest. So that's why I love it so much.

A lot of people think of actors and performing as this fakey or "show business" thing, but I see a lot of realness within it, too, and that's why I keep doing it. I see the reality and life lessons you can learn from it.

Q: How did you decide to create "Express Yourself"?

A: I was figuring out for a while what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted it to be very free-for-all, open-minded. I wanted it to be no rules allowed. I decided it's to be called "Express Yourself" because the main theme of the show is self-expression.

Q: What do you want the audience's experience to be?

A: I'm hoping they will be excited by musical theater, by seeing this, because it's all contemporary musicals. It's all musicals that are either very fun or out there. A lot of the songs are really different. They're not original, old-school musical theater.

I want people to have a fun time and I want them to open their mind to new things. They're going to see a lot of things that they might not have seen before like guys in dresses or girls wearing more promiscuous outfits and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think people have such a bad image of things that seem over-sexualized when, in all honesty, it's about the art form and self-expression.

Q: It sounds like a very positive experience.

A: Yes, I'm hoping it's a positive thing. There are some things that people may find offensive, but it's all in good fun. Like the show The Book of Mormon is making fun of Mormons, but not in any way that's supposed to be hateful. It's almost like a celebration even though there are some things that may be offensive to others. It's supposed to be fun. All in good fun.

Q: How did you find the songs?

A: I asked my friends who were going to [be in the show] to send me lists of songs that they thought they could connect with well. Or I would choose a song and ask, "Would you be interested in singing this?" So each song is personal to each person. The group numbers are at least personal to me and I'm hoping that sharing these group numbers with my friends in the show will mean something to them as well.

Q: What's an example of a song that's personal to you and what makes it personal?

A: Definitely the song "Seasons of Love" from Rent because, you know, that's such an overplayed song. Everybody knows that song. When I did Rent, this song really taught me how I should be living my life. "How do you measure a year? You measure it in love." You can't think about the small, unimportant things in life. You have to think about the things that keep you going and the love that fills your life. Otherwise, you're going to be miserable if you always think about all the little things you have to do every day. You have to think about the big picture. That's what that song taught me and what I want to share with the audience.

Q: As you were saying that it struck me that it's a message I tend to forget.

A: I always forget about it, but when you see the show or hear the song, it's like, "I remember now." I'm hoping that it will make people feel good to hear it.

Q: I wanted to ask you about your favorite song. Would you say that's the one?

A: It's not my favorite song. It's probably my favorite message. My favorite song in the show is from Spring Awakening called "Touch Me." That song also means a lot to me because people are scared of showing themselves to people and being vulnerable, but this song is all about asking someone to share that part of them that's so sacred and just to be with one another. It's not saying, "Touch me physically," but my soul.

Q: In addition to the great music in the show, it sounds like there are a lot of uplifting messages.

A: I'm hoping.

Q: Please tell us about the organizations benefiting from your show.

A: I chose Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS because so many shows I've gone to in downtown Chicago, such as Rent or The Book of Mormon, have had people collecting money for Broadway Cares and then the cast has also said something about the organization.

Broadway Cares donates to a ton of organizations that help people who suffer with HIV or AIDS. I think that's such an important cause to donate to, especially since I did Rent. A lot of the characters in the show have HIV or AIDS and one actually dies from it. I didn't really know a lot about the disease until I did that show. It's such a great cause to support.

The other cause I'm supporting is the Actors Training Center Scholarship Fund. They have offered me the greatest training and I love getting to give back to them for all they've given to me. It's a great place to train. It teaches you a lot, how to be professional. It really prepares you for the real world, especially if this is what you want to do with your life.

Q: Do you ever get stage fright? What is your advice for dealing with it?

A: I usually don't get stage fright in group situations because it's better to have that energy around you of other people. But when I am by myself, like sometimes the first time I sing a song, my thing is I shake and I really can't control it.

But two pieces of advice I can give to people are, first of all, to breathe, which is something I forget to do. Even though breathing is something we do naturally, sometimes I'll catch myself in a situation where I'm freaking out and I forget to breathe for a few seconds. So that's one thing.

And then another one is to be confident. You have to go out there and even if you don't know what you're doing, you really have to fake it until you make it. I just saw a TED talk about how you should fake it until you become it. So you really have to just go out there and become what you want to be.

Q: Lots of times people in their forties, fifties, etc., are asked, "If you could go back in time, what would you tell yourself when you were eighteen?" But I wonder what at eighteen I would have hoped to remember later in life. If you could go forward in time and tell yourself an important thing to remember later, what would it be?

A: I think to really focus on what you love to do, even if it's going to take work to get there because something I need to start telling myself, especially since I'm going to school for music, is that I need to focus more on playing piano or learning music theory. You should always try your best, but really give your all when it comes to what you want to do with your life and with what you love to do. I think that's the advice I would give myself.

Q: Is there a role that you hope to play in the future?

A: Oh yeah, there are a ton.  I know I want to be in the shows Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar because those are my favorite rock musicals.

Q: Do you have a favorite song from those musicals?

A: I really like "Bless the Lord" from Godspell.

Q: That song is beautiful.

A: Yeah, that's a great one. And then contemporary musicals, actually I do have a dream role-type thing. At Baldwin Wallace last year they did the first college production of this new musical called Lizzy Borden: The Musical. If you know the story about Lizzie Borden, you know she murdered her father with an ax. There's a whole story. It actually makes a great musical. It's very punk and rock and I love those kinds of shows. I'd love to be in that show, any of the parts, really.

Q: Who are your influences?

A: Definitely the artist Amanda Palmer who was originally a part of the Dresden Dolls. They're a punk cabaret band and she's very, very great. She plays piano and ukulele and guitar. She really speaks her mind and isn't afraid to not shave her armpits and she'll wear whatever she wants, fishnets and corsets, and I just think that's awesome, to wear what you want to wear and be free about what you believe in.

Q: Please tell us about the cast of "Express Yourself."

A: The people who are in the cast are all of my good friends. Like Max and Carson, I've known them forever and some newer friends from school. They're all just really, really talented. I only wanted the best of talent to be in this show. I also have some friends doing it who are in college, all studying either music or musical theater.

I'm also having some people who have been in shows with me at the Actors Training Center. I'm glad that they're going to be a part of this. A lot of the songs in the show have been songs that have been part of the musicals that we've done at the Actors Training Center.

They're great, such talented people. I don't want this show to be all about me. I didn't want this to be my senior recital. I wanted this to be a senior recital for everyone even if they're not seniors, something to end their year with, something they enjoy doing.

Q: What else should the audience know about "Express Yourself"?

A: People should know that it's going to be a really fun night. It's going to be about everyone. It's not just going to be about watching the show; it's about the audience, too. Everyone in the theater is going to be involved. The audience is welcome to sing along if they want to, especially for group numbers. I want everyone who wants to be a part of it to be a part of it. I want everyone to wear their best outfits or whatever they feel most comfortable in, get all dressed up if they want to. Just be prepared to have a really fun night.

"Express Yourself" is at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 7:00) on Monday, May 20 at The Wilmette Theatre, 1122 Central Avenue in Wilmette. Suggested $5 donation. There will be a special raffle. The show is for ages 13 and up. For more information: (847) 251-8710 or www.actorstrainingcenter.com

Cast members:

Sabrina Fosse - Glencoe
Joe Agase - Wilmette
Malcolm Durning - Winnetka
Danielle Newmark - Wilmette
Mike Liebenson - Wilmette
Margaret Juravic - Glenview
Carson Rammelt - Wilmette
Isabella Boettcher - Wilmette
Max Goldstein - Highland Park
Sammy Ferber - Glenview
Julia Mates - Evanston
Emily Wronski - Wilmette

Accompanied by Evanston's very own Nathan Urdangen and pianist Charlie Worth.

With special guest appearances by other current and former members of the Actors Training Center.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?