Special to The Swellesley Report courtesy of the Wellesley High School Bradford and Parents of Performing Students (POPS). This is one in a series of POPS Senior Profiles we’ll be publishing.
Not many students at the high school have performed in over thirty theater productions by their senior year, but Emma Gordon ’24 has. Gordon, now an intensive student in the Acting 4 class and a member of Keynotes, an auditioned choral group at the high school, first encountered singing and acting through the LINX Summer Camps at five years old.
“Ever since then I’ve really loved theater. I’m always singing show tunes at home,” said Gordon.
Since her debut at LINX Summer Camps, Gordon has been an enthusiastic member of the theater community. She has participated in most of the plays and musicals at the high school, including The Laramie Project, Eurydice, Something Rotten, and the high school’s most recent musical, Mean Girls. She has also taken acting classes, singing classes, and lessons throughout her 4 years of high school.
“I love being able to express myself on stage through other characters and channel my emotions into song. Every time I do another show it brings me more joy,” said Gordon.
Ms. Kara Sullivan, the theater teacher at the high school, and her friends have noticed this.
“She puts 185% into everything she does. Her passion and love for what she does radiates joy,” said Sullivan.
“She’s the most committed person to theater. She has stayed committed while she had large and small parts, and has always been trying to make it better,” said Madison Prowda ’24, Gordon’s friend and a fellow member of the musical theater community.
In the high school’s musical last year, Something Rotten, Gordon played Portia, one of the main characters’ love interests, who enjoys Shakespeare and poetry.
“I really enjoyed being able to perform as Portia because I was able to relate to her love of poetry with my love of theater and nerding out over the things you love,” said Gordon.
Not only does Gordon view theater as an important pursuit, but she also sees it as a way to connect herself with the people around her. Although she began performing for the joy of being on stage, she pursued it because of the people she met and connected with.
“Mean Girls has a really great sense of community, and so I’m friends with a lot of the cast, and we have really tight bonds,” said Gordon.
Her friends support her throughout her theater endeavors.
“My friends are my biggest cheerleaders,” said Gordon. “They always give me feedback on my auditions, come to my shows, and celebrate my victories, like when I get a part.”
Prowda said, “I went out to ice cream with her after Something Rotten because it was her first lead role.”
To continue to cultivate community through theater at the high school, Gordon started the Musical Theater Club, where students can sing and perform without the stress of auditions.
The club meets every Friday afternoon in the little theater, and is open to members of all grades. During meetings, they spend time practicing for their upcoming performance, or bonding over their shared love for the art. The club strives to put on one to two performances every year.
“I wanted to create a place that was inclusive of anyone who wanted to participate in theater,” said Gordon.
Gordon cares for all students in the theater department, regardless of whether or not they are a part of the school orchestrated performances. She takes pride in creating relationships and mentoring her peers, including those who are younger than herself.
“She doesn’t divide herself from anyone else based on talent or age. She just has open arms all the time,” said Sullivan.
Because of her commitment to the community within theater, Sullivan appointed her to the new Theater Council. This group works to organize cast bonding activities, make decisions regarding the theater program, and bring any suggestions or concerns from the rest of the theater department to Sullivan’s attention.
After graduation, Gordon will attend Tufts, where she hopes to minor or double major in theater, and participate in the many student acting organizations.
Additionally, her experience as a theater counselor at LINX summer camps and helping in the high school’s Child Lab have led her to wanting to incorporate theater and working with children into her future career. With inspiration from Sullivan, she is even considering becoming a theater teacher.
“I enjoy mentoring and inspiring younger students and hope I can further their passion for performing as it has had such a positive impact on my life,” said Gordon.
Article written by WHS Bradford Co-Features Editor Alexis Lee ’25 & Staff Writer Sophia Weene ’24
