The lights dim as the curtains open: it’s showtime. Beyond the classroom, Hackley students have many unique talents that make up their identities. Sophomore Cara Minello found her passion in acting and singing and has been a prominent member of Hackley’s Performing Arts Community since the beginning of her fFreshman year, as well as being a dedicated actor and singer outside of school.

Cara’s acting career began in elementary school when she discovered that sports were not the only extracurricular activities that kids could participate in.

“In fourth grade, I played recreational soccer but did not enjoy it. Soon after, my mom signed me up for acting classes instead,” said Cara. Right away, Cara realized her newfound love for the art of performing. “Once I began to act, I finally felt confident while doing something,” she said.

Currently, Cara is participating in “Carrie the Musical” outside of school, and she also just finished up performing “The Dining Room,” Hackley’s winter play. Cara reminisced on her time working towards and performing in “The Dining Room,” and she felt it was an awesome experience as her second Hackley play.

“It was fun and interesting to perform in the Chapel rather than the auditorium. I have never performed in a setting like this before, but it was a great experience,” she said.

Additionally, while Cara loves performing within Hackley, she also has built a large acting career outside of school. She feels that the biggest difference when it comes to doing drama inside and outside of Hackley is the number of plays she can participate in.

“At school there’s only one play, but outside of Hackley, I can do many,” she said. Her favorite performance she has ever taken part in was the production of “Les Mis” outside of school. “I was in Eighth Grade at the time, and it was my first ever show with highschoolers while having a significant role which was extremely powerful,” she said.

In addition to her performing in the yearly Hackley play, Cara is also an active member of the coffeehouse community. She has performed in every coffeehouse since arriving at Hackley, with some of her highlights include being her performances of “Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga on the piano this past fall, “All I Wanted” by Paramore last spring, and “I Can’t Love You in the Dark” by Adele last winter. To Cara, coffeehouse is not only about the performing arts, but also about community. She feels that her favorite aspect of coffeehouse is “watching the school come together to put on the performance, while also enjoying the music.” Many frequent coffeehouse attendees have been positively impacted by her performances, and feel that they add great value to the Hackley community.

“The rest of the coffeehouse can have boisterous energy as everyone is typically performing with loud music, but when Cara performs, there is a more quiet and emotional feel as it’s only her and the piano,” said sophomore Nikhil Shah, recounting her solo performances on the piano.

In addition to performing, though, Cara also plays a crucial role in the production of each coffeehouse, working alongside Dylan Chalfy to produce amazing seasonal performances.

“Immediately you can tell how much care, passion, and love she puts into the preparation of others’ performances and her own,” said senior Cole Silpe.

In the future, Cara hopes to continue her singing and acting career, as well as continue to work on building the Hackley coffeehouse community.

“I hope more people get involved in coffeehouse, because it is such a great production by Hackley that does not get enough love,” she said.

Cara also hopes to sing and produce more of her own original music in the future. Recently, she released a single called “Snowball” which has been in the works for some time now. Cara would love to continue to release more of her music, as she feels it’s a great way to create a sense of individuality within the industry and express herself.

“Having a song to yourself is cool, but releasing it and letting other people listen after you have kept it to yourself for a while is truly a magical experience,” she said.