The Snobby Golfer, portrayed by Riley Lawson, said, “What is this outrageous sound?”  This was the first time he ever performed on stage and he was in the second grade performing in the play for Castlio Elementary School. At the time, he only did it because he was required to. Seven years later, the story is a bit different. He’s a freshman and just coming off a play he chose to be in where he was the lead.

“I feel happy [when I perform] because it is a chance to be someone else,” Lawson said.

The first time he performed was very stressful, but it was also a lot of fun because he was surrounded with people who he had a lot in common with. Lawson has been in a total of eight plays, and every one of them has been performed in FHN’s auditorium. At the moment, he is thinking of possibly pursuing acting as a career.

“[Acting] has made him break out of his shell and be less self conscious, it has let him be who he wants to be,” Zac Cary, secretary of Drama Club, said.

When Lawson first found out he was Mortimer Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace earlier this fall, he thought it was cool, but he didn’t realize it was one of the lead roles. It was not the part he tried out for, but he ended up enjoying it. The judges chose the students who had impressive auditions, looked the part and had good chemistry with the other actors. They had a look and voice in their mind before auditions started. This year a lot of freshmen tried out for the play, so no one really knew who would get what part. The students were all very accepting when Riley got the role because in drama years of experience isn’t what gets them a big role, it is their acting, so they knew he must be good.

“I didn’t know Riley, but when he auditioned I remember thinking ‘Oh he’s really good,’” drama teacher Kim Sulzner said.

Through drama, Lawson has gained confidence and friends. When he was in elementary school, he used to be afraid of public speaking and now he enjoys it. The skills he has learned in drama now help him with his other activities such as Speech and Debate, Quiz Bowl and StuCo.

“Drama is important because it overlaps all classes. There is science, math and most every class involved in it,” Sulzner said.

Even though he started acting in second grade, he didn’t start enjoying it until sixth grade.  While he may have started out because he was required to do it, he now finds it really fun, even though it is a time commitment.

“I will keep acting as long as they keep casting me because when they don’t it makes it rather difficult to act,” Lawson said