It takes time to find your voice.
Sometimes it takes even longer to find a place for your voice.
But when a person finds their voice and a place for their voice, their spirit is transformed in a way that changes them forever.
Twelve-year old Ave’ Rogiers and 9-year old Ava Spady of St. Joseph, have found a place for their voices and their silliness with Champaign’s Class Act.
Rogiers dipped her toe into theater when she followed her older brother into acting classes in 2016.
Working side-by-side with her mom, Abbie, who has fallen in love with what theater teaches children, Ave’ began to feel a freedom that allowed her to show off her goofy side and begin to shed her shyness.
“I like that you can express yourself and not be weird about it,” Ave’ said.
Abbie said that the family would come home from classes and practice the exercises that helped develop voice and body movements.
“For me, it was totally a bonding experience,” she said. “I loved doing that with the kids.”
As an adult who grew up playing sports, Abbie now believes every child should participate in theater at some point.
“I so regret not being involved in theater,” she said. “It’s so fun, and you learn so much. It’s such a growing experience.”
Through the work Ave’ has done both individually and with friends in theater who “are not afraid to goof off in front of each other,” she said the apprehension when performing in front of an audience or presenting in front of her classmates in now gone.
“I’m not nervous at all because theater helped me not be embarrassed,” Ave’ said.
Abbie has also seen a change in her daughter.
“It’s definitely grown her confidence and maturity, for sure,” Abbie said.
Since taking the 2016 acting workshop under the direction of Class Act Director Jaclyn Loewenstein, Ave’ has joined a speech and acting competition team at St. Joseph Middle School and participated in the 2018 Class Act Summer performance of “Annie.”
Abbie believes the work that Loewenstein does with her students plays a big part in their growth.
“What I was really surprised about is that we would do these exercises, and then she would give feedback. I always want to be like, ‘Ave’, that was so good!’ Jackie is a positive person, but she’s very honest. She really is a coach. She is there to get you better and focus on things you may not pay attention to.”
On Sunday, Ave’ will join Ava in Class Act’s production of “Musicville” at the Sodo Theater located on Neil Street in downtown Champaign. Showtimes are at 2 and 4 p.m. Tickets for the 1-hour show are $5 at the door.
Ave’ plays Radical Rhythm, the lead Maiden Melody’s (Cecilia Vermillion) timid best friend. As the girls flee a spell that is silencing an entire town, Maiden Melody and Radical Rhythm find help from their friends.
Ava, who is making her debut in theater, is included in the Melody Meadows Ensemble, and takes on the characters Fermata and Tanguerro 2.
After participating in musical theater productions at Art In Motion, Ava decided she wanted to expand her talents in dancing and bring life to her desire to also sing and dance.
After getting an audition call back, but not making the “Annie” cast, Ava turned to her mom, Melissa, for support.
Melissa knew that her daughter wanted to continue down the path of acting, but could see that she was slightly disappointed by not being cast. She encouraged her to try out for productions, even if the role was small, to gain experience.
After reading the script for “Musicville,” Ava wasn’t sold on the story, but is now in love with the show.
“I was telling my mom, ‘I don’t want to do this musical’, but she was like, ‘Just finish it, and just try to push yourself,’ ” Ava said. “So I was pushing myself, and it really helped. And now I feel better about my characters.
“All I did to push myself is go to practices and really dig into my characters.”
“At first she didn’t really like the tangos because it was a little scary because she has to have a Spanish accent with it,” Melissa said. “But that has morphed into one of her favorite characters.”
She likes to show off her dramatic side while playing Tanguerro 2, and gets to show off her voice while playing Fermata, who stretches out all of her notes.
“The more I do musical theater, it opens up my voice,” Ava said. “In this play I get to dance and sing, so it’s making my dreams come true. Each day I open myself up more.”
“It’s just been really fun to watch her grow from afar from the very beginning; just watching her grow with working out her nerves and developing the different friendships with children from Champaign and Savoy,” Melissa said.
