Senior Alexis Arnold began to participate in theater productions at six years old, so it only seemed natural for her to take the Acting I minor course as an incoming freshman at Hackley. Little did she know that she would continue acting for the next four years and become an influential member of Hackley’s incredibly talented and tight knit acting community.

Now in her final year at Hackley, Alexis has spent more than her fair share of time on stage. One of her fondest memories of performing at Hackley was participating in the Poetry Out Loud competition her Freshman year. “It was really my first Hackley performance and it was just a big moment for me because I realized this is something I can do well and I really enjoy it, so I can keep going with it,” said Alexis.

As a senior taking an Independent Study in Advanced Acting, she will be performing in a Spring Showcase with the other seniors in her acting class. The class has the opportunity to decide what play they want to perform and make a lot of important decisions regarding the performance. This year the Advanced Acting Independent Study class taught by Willie Teacher, is planning to perform their show Off-Broadway along with outside experienced actors.

In addition to her intensive acting schedule, Alexis has managed to balance schoolwork, sports, and extracurriculars throughout high school. Alexis is a member of the fencing team and the spring track and field team. She holds school records in the shotput and discus events and the NYSAIS record in discus. Alexis is also a Unity Club leader and a member of the AGSA club. It seems safe to say that Alexis applies unreserved effort in all her endeavors.

While taking years of acting and participating in numerous plays at Hackley, Alexis has found that the other actors have made the experience incredibly fun as well as rewarding. “It is a very a big teamwork effort, we learn to work together as one… all the people around you who are supportive help in that process,” she said.

The actors spend a lot of time together, often having to stay after school until as late as 8 p.m. two weeks leading up to a show. “We are a very tight knit group just because we spend so much time together and we do a lot of team bonding activities when we are in the play.”

She also credits a lot of her success to Upper School Drama teacher Mr. Willie Teacher. “He came my sophomore year and it was a whole different side of acting that I had never seen before… he is also the head of Diversity club, which I am a part of, so I have gotten to know him better and he has also guided me as a person,” said Alexis

Now nearing the final scenes of high school, Alexis intends to participate in theater in the future, and plans to take all of her experiences and memories with her as the curtain closes on her acting career at Hackley.