'I will be on Broadway someday'

MOSES LAKE - When Rebecca Gish discusses her love of theater, the energy she exudes is contagious.

The 16-year-old Moses Lake High School junior is as sure about her future as Dorothy was about going back to Kansas.

"I will be on Broadway someday," she states without hesitation.

The musicals Rebecca hopes to perform on Broadway in New York City include "Wicked," "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Phantom of the Opera," "Les Mis/rables" and "Legally Blonde."

"I love singing," Rebecca said. "Like sometimes, I get those urges and don't know what to sing. I just want to sing right now."

Why Broadway?

"It's the top," she said. "That's the place that people look at to see plays, professional plays, and as goofy as I am, people don't take me seriously, and I don't know why."

Rebecca's passion for performance is obvious by her long list of experience. There was "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Wizard of Oz," "Clue," "The Diary of Anne Frank," "Bye Bye Birdie," "Jack," "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)," and most recently, "Oliver!"

The first time Rebecca sang a song from a musical was in eighth grade. She sang "On My Own," from "Les Mis/rables."

At the time, Rebecca had never heard of the musical.

"I didn't even know that existed," she said. "Yeah, I saw it in Disney movies, but, that people do a play and they just sing how they feel."

Rebecca said she inherited her love of music from her dad, who teaches band at Chief Moses Middle School.

In fact - Rebecca played clarinet for four years, until she found herself unable to simultaneously take band and choir, and still earn enough graduation credits.

She said her mother is a talented singer.

"I've been around music my whole life," she said.

The first time Rebecca was in a choir, she estimated she was between six and eight years old.

"It wasn't a choir of my age," she said. "I was popped into my older sister's choir, and I loved it. And, you just keep singing and singing. Who cares what people think? Because that's what people tell you when you're little, 'don't care what other people think.'"

Rebecca said she believes there is something to the philosophy.

In addition to being involved with high school plays, Rebecca is in chamber choir. She was selected last year to be in the Washington Music Educators Association All-State symphonic choir. Rebecca 's friend, Meredith Heinzmann, was selected to be part of the All-State band. She said they were the only two students from Moses Lake selected.

"It was amazing, and I am so glad I got to share that experience with her," Rebecca said.

When Rebecca wants to sing, she doesn't know exactly what to sing. Being in a performance allows her to sing through another character, expressing how the character feels.

"It's beautiful and you can just say it as loudly as you want because it's in the character's head," Rebecca said.

If a career in performance was absolutely not an option, Rebecca said she would enjoy playing volleyball professionally.

Rebecca said she doesn't look up to any one person in particular. Performers she admires include Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, both of whom received Tony Awards.

Choir director David Holloway and drama director Don Hendrixson also receive high regard by Rebecca.

"They, in my opinion, are the best teachers in Moses Lake," she said. "They just are. They're incredibly talented, and they'll teach you everything you need to know."

Rebecca is considering attending college at Northern Colorado University. As part of the program, she will be able to perform for producers and directors in New York.