All eyes are on the stage when junior Chloe Henderson steps into the spotlight. And she has stepped on stage several times. Henderson started theater when a teacher her mother knew encouraged her to try out for children's theater when she was 11 years old.

“The best part of theater is the first day of practice,” Henderson said. “You get to meet everyone and find out who is playing what part.”

Henderson first started out doing plays in Wellington for their theater, then she switched to Wichita for a while, and she has since switched back and forth. No matter where she is, auditions are generally the same, though.

When actors go to audition, they have to show up prepared with a chorus. Then, judges will give them lines to remember. People are randomly selected to perform several different parts, so they have to memorize all the material. They listen to tone of voice and how they present themselves to help determine what part would be best for them to play. Essentially, actors try out for what parts the director has them read, and they read four or five parts so the judges can get an idea of what would suit you best.

“It’s cool to see everybody when you go to the first practice and you get to be reunited with some people you have known from previous years or you get to meet new people,” Henderson said. “Most of the time, everyone gets along. They try to keep away from cliques, but sometimes it just happens. You usually just hang out with the people you talk to every time, and they introduce you to everybody.”

Two of the more well-known plays she has acted in are “Alice in Wonderland” and “Into The Woods”. In “Alice in Wonderland”, she played Cheshire, the clever, cunning, disappearing cat, and in “Into the Woods”, she played Jack’s mother from the story “Jack and the Beanstalk”.

“The first show, you get nervous but after that you just kinda go with the flow.”  Henderson said.

Currently, Henderson is rehearsing for a musical called “Elf Jr.” alongside junior Michelle Willson and eighth grader Austin Doffing.