Lakeside School

Julia Schlaepfer is a professional actor best known for her roles in the television series “The Politician” and “1923." In this essay for Lakeside magazine, she reflected on how her career began at Lakeside.

In January of 2013, wrapped in the glow of the warm bulbed lights in the backstage dressing room of St. Nicholas Hall, the course of my entire life was about to change. I was standing next to my mom as she curled flocks of jittery high schoolers’ hair into 1930s bobs. I nervously applied layers of makeup to match a glamorous photo of Jean Harlow taped to the mirror in front of me. The cast took turns sneakily peering out the side of the mainstage curtain to see if our friends or crushes were in the audience. The whole world was buzzing. I thought, This is what pure bliss must feel like.

The Lakeside School theater department was about to present its opening-night production of “Anything Goes.” I felt like I was floating. I also felt like I was going to pee my pants. The night before, during dress rehearsal, I had fallen down a set of stairs backstage and suffered a broken finger and a concussion. Despite the splint around my hand and my slightly dizzy head, no part of me could imagine being anywhere else. I had never performed in a musical before. In fact, I had barely been acting for a year, and I had never considered this was something I could do for the rest of my life.

I was a deeply shy kid. Many of my Lakeside teachers could probably attest that it took me years to get up the nerve to raise my hand in class without fear of sounding stupid or having a wrong answer. I was scared as a young woman to be perceived as anything but perfect. I had decided that staying quiet and smiling big was the safest alternative.

Alban Dennis — the most brilliant artist and theater teacher I have ever had — gave me the gift of Reno, and in this he gave me the gift of my own voice. He encouraged me to use this character to be messy, to embrace my imperfections, to find the beauty in how deeply complicated it is to be a human being.

So there I was, opening night, draped in the thick, boozy veil of Reno Sweeney’s confidence, belting “I Get a Kick Out of You” for an audience of my peers and loved ones who had never heard me sing before. Under those lights, I cackled like a little kid, head thrown back as I shouted out hammy one-liners with abandon in the face of Moonface Martin. Minutes later, I was shedding tears in front of Billy Crocker, revealing the deepest cracks of my own sadness by way of Reno’s broken heart. I could be free in this make-believe world. I could be anything and feel everything. I was split wide open. I was perhaps, for the first time, wholly Julia.

Alban Dennis was the first person to say, “You can do this for the rest of your life, if you want it.” And I did want it. He had more confidence in me than I did, and that is part of what makes him so special.

Today, I am walking onto a film set in North Carolina. I am here to star in a movie. I am here, a professional actor, pinching myself every day, all because of one singular high school production of “Anything Goes.” I am living my dream because a singular high school drama teacher looked me in the eyes and dared me to.

I hope that this year’s spectacular cast of Lakeside’s “Anything Goes” embraces the same magical feeling. To the students in the cast I say this: As I reflect on the show that helped me find my voice, I urge you all to find your own. This world is full of so many dreams, so much unknown. Remember to connect to one another, love one another, have more fun than you ever thought imaginable, and chase your dreams so hard you feel dizzy.

For me, 12 years later, whether I’m performing in an off-Broadway play or stepping onto a Netflix film set, every second feels like my very first opening night at 17 years old. Every single light feels as vibrant and safe and magical as it did on Lakeside’s stage. It is the most special gift in the world. I am eternally wrapped in the warm glow of the St. Nicholas theater. The whole world is still buzzing. This is what pure bliss feels like.