Following five acclaimed shows, the cast of Woodside High School’s Anything Goes is now moving onto their next big endeavor, college, and majoring in courses involving the acting professions they love the most.
The musical’s leads, Sofia Costantini and Madison Colgate, are continuing their musical theater career in college. They’ll be heading to San Jose State and San Diego State, respectively, but their talent and expertise stem from long before Woodside’s Anything Goes production.
Costantini went from dancing to performing to voice lessons, and then finally found her place in a production of Life of Aladdin with fellow Woodsiders, Mollie Kraus and Derek Smith.
Colgate on the other hand, waited to decide if she really wanted to pursue theatre in middle school, participating in sports on the side before joining a play in 6th grade. The following year was when she really felt like she blossomed since she got to play one of the show’s leads.
“Once I got the lead, I just fell in love. It felt like the best thing ever,” Colgate stated.
While Madison and Sofia’s stories for theatre admiration are fairly straightforward, Performing Arts teacher Barry Woodruff explained how some students’ directions to success are much more complex. Their experience prior to college led them in many different paths, working in the wide variety of jobs in the Performing Arts field. Some students even utilize their techniques for much different areas of work.
“Some of them go on to be singers, while others take the acting for that. Others just do it because they want to go into politics,” Woodruff explained. “[A student] is going into law school, and drama has helped her. Some kids simply end up in theater, and some start in one way and end in another area altogether.”