By Tiffany Razzano
"Reach for the Stars" is an annual singing competition, in the vein of "American Idol," for 13- to 19-year-olds. Though neither of the girls came away with an award after last Sunday's final at Eisenhower Park, they were picked from hundreds of applicants as two of the top 20 talents, all of whom performed in the finals. And at 13, Stephanie and Kelsey were two of the youngest competitors.
Stephanie made it to the finals by wowing judges with the song "Jimmy" from the Broadway play "Thoroughly Modern Millie." Kelsey chose "Breaking Free" from the television show "High School Musical." The girls performed the songs again in the finals.
Both have been preparing for careers in entertainment for a number of years by acting, singing, performing in local musicals and even writing their own music. Stephanie, an eighth-grader at Oceanside Middle School, said she was nervous about the finals, but was looking forward to it and hoping for the best. She has performed in two shows in the Kids Who Kare drama program - "Grease" and "Les Miserables." She has also been involved in plays at the middle school. Her love of the musical "Phantom of the Opera" spurred her interest in musical theater. Now, she said, she is hoping to make it a career.
A gifted pianist, Stephanie also composes her own rock music. She said she is very interested in older rock music, particularly Grace Slick's Jefferson Airplane.
Kelsey is also very active in the Kids Who Kare program, having performed in several of the program's shows. She said she was very excited to be a part of "Reach for the Stars" and that before she even auditioned, she had a feeling she would do well in the competition. She went into the finals feeling very confident, she said, "because you have to be optimistic. You should never think you're not going to win. You always have to think that you can do it, then your performance will be twice as good."
An eighth-grader at St. Agnes Catholic School, Kelsey has always known she wanted to perform. A lover of theater, she recently starred in her school's performance of "The Music Man." She also attended two prestigious theater camps, Stage Door Manor and Broadway Artists Alliance.
Kelsey also writes her own music, in the teen pop vein of Jo Jo and Kelly Clarkson. After several promising visits with producers at Universal Motown Records, Kelsey will be recording a demo CD as soon as she is done studying for the Cooperative Entrance Exam for Catholic high schools this fall. She said that one producer gave her the best compliment of her young career, telling her she is the best young talent he has seen in five years.
Kelsey also has the acting bug, having recently starred in two independent films produced by college students, "The Delaware Project" and "Schtum." Both films are currently being shopped around to independent film festivals.
As Kelsey prepares for her future career, she relies heavily on the support of her family, especially her mother, who acts as her manager, and her friends at St. Agnes. As she continues to act, sing and write music, she says, "I definitely can't see myself doing anything else with my life."
