Community theater haven for ‘weird kid’
“I did my first play when I was about 5 years old. It was a church Christmas play, and I was the star that led the wise men to baby Jesus. I discovered that I was a big ham, and I couldn’t get enough of it. My mom started taking me to do community theater shows. That’s how I ended up getting a scholarship to college and meeting my husband. We were in the same theater department.
“Community theater has always felt like a haven for me. I was a weird kid, and that was where a lot of the other weirdos went. That’s where I always found people like me, who didn’t necessarily fit in but could pretend to be somebody else for a little while.
“Believe it or not, I’m kind of a shy person. So when someone gives me the words to say, I’m like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. You gave me a script. I know what the other person is going to say back. This is fantastic. I wish real life was like that. Because I feel like I rarely say the right thing. Sometimes my mouth just starts running before my brain can catch up.
“I’ve always enjoyed musicals. As an 8-year-old, I wore out our VHS copy of ‘Singin’ in the Rain.’ I loved that movie. I’ve been trying to expose my daughter to musicals, putting them on while she’s in the room and seeing her reaction. The first time I put on ‘Annie’ for her, the minute the orphan starting singing ‘It’s a Hard-Knock Life,’ she jumped up and said, ‘No. No dancing,’ and just ran out of the room. So I was like, OK, I guess mommy’s going to go down this road alone. But she’s not even 3 yet. She still has plenty of time to come around.”
— Rebecca Barker
A former Baytown resident, Rebecca lives in Michigan with her husband and their daughter.
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