With a dad whose career is in lighting for stage productions and a mum who has both performed on stage and worked as a stage manager, perhaps BSSC Year 12 student, Alice McKellar, was always destined to tread the boards?
Her first experience of the theatre was at just one week old, when her parents took her along to a show they wanted to see.
A few years later it was Alice鈥檚 turn on stage as a three-year-old in a ballet concert.
She鈥檚 since been part of the ensemble for 鈥楩ame Junior鈥� as a ten-year-old. She followed up BSE鈥檚 鈥楳e and My Girl鈥� and 鈥楢nnie鈥� with Tribe鈥檚 鈥楥ats鈥� and 鈥楥harlie and the Chocolate Factory鈥�.
With local theatre company Nexus, Alice has appeared in 鈥極liver鈥�, 鈥楽hrek鈥� and 鈥楶irates of Penzance鈥� and is presently in rehearsals for 鈥楥inderella鈥� where she has a major role.
In a perfect world Alice鈥檚 future will include a role鈥攐r roles鈥攊n West End Musicals.
The path to this dream will probably include a Bachelor of Musical Theatre at a university offering this course鈥攅ven possibly one in the UK.
Alice is considering a gap year too鈥攁lthough chances are it would be filled with rehearsals and performances.
鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of the person I鈥檝e become and am becoming,鈥� Alice says.
鈥淢y confidence has grown so much over the last few years and I feel I owe this to the 榴莲视频18 theatre community who have supported me so much.鈥�
Yet, it hasn鈥檛 been a free ride for Alice to reach this place of relative contentment.
When she was in Grade 6 the family moved from the Mornington Peninsula to 榴莲视频18. It was a huge adjustment for her.
Alice remembers feeling lost in a huge dark storm. She says her twin brother was her 鈥榮aving grace鈥� as she tried to make new friends, adjust to a new town and a new school, and make the jump from Primary School into her 7-10 years.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 realise when you are just 12 that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.鈥�
Alice would love to be able to go back and comfort her 12-year-old self and say, 鈥淗old on! Everything is going to work out fine鈥�.
No doubt the great relationship Alice enjoys with her family, who she describes as 鈥渢he most supportive family in the whole world鈥�, was critical during these difficult years.
However, it seems she was right about the light at the end of the tunnel: Alice says being at BSSC is the best and happiest time she鈥檚 had in her entire education.
The word 鈥榦pportunity鈥� best describes BSSC for her and鈥攗nsurprisingly鈥攕he recommends the college 鈥渄efinitely and 100%鈥�.
鈥淲hen I first came here and saw the incredible array of subjects, it was almost too many to choose from. But everyone here is very supportive of the Arts as well and kept me aware of opportunities beyond the college too.鈥�
Attending plays with her Literature class gives Alice the opportunity to see professional actors and makes her very excited about her VCE studies as she considers that, for many of them, it was only a few years ago they were also in the midst of VCE.
鈥淚t reassures me this is a legitimate pathway.鈥�
Being able to see her friends every day at Senior is a bonus for someone as busy as Alice, who has rehearsals as well as dance and singing lessons outside of school.
Year 12 can be quite a step up from Year 11 and Alice has found the increase in workload somewhat daunting. She says being organised is essential and, for her, this involves a lot of sticky notes.
鈥淚t works really well for me to jot down things immediately and attach them to my notes or a pinboard I keep specifically for things I need to remember.鈥�
This year she is studying Literature, Musical Theatre, Music Repertoire, Drama and Art. It鈥檚 a perfect subject blend for this talented singer and actress who is on a trajectory towards a career in musical theatre.
Her favourite subject? Well, this is in constant flux as she loves different aspects of each, and it all depends on the particular topic of the day.
鈥淚 think the biggest challenge is that I can be so self-critical鈥攅ndlessly comparing myself to others. It grinds me down and makes me anxious,鈥� she says. 鈥渆ven though I know at the end of the day your ATAR doesn鈥檛 really matter, this year it鈥檚 playing on my mind.鈥�
Alice uses two methods to de-stress when the pressures of VCE get too much.
One is to sit outside in the fresh air and disappear into a great book. The other is to head out for a walk along the river with her beautiful dog鈥攁 perfect cure for 鈥榮tuck-in-study-brain鈥� mode.
Alice also sets a timer and works in 45-minute blocks with breaks between each session.
Time鈥攁nd managing it鈥攎ight be big in Alice鈥檚 life at the present time, yet she is not oblivious to global issues that will probably increasingly impact her life.
鈥淐limate Change is massive for me,鈥� Alice says. 鈥淎t home we try to do our best, although I feel like we are doing the minimum. I was shocked to visit someone last year who only had a rubbish bin and everything was sent to landfill.鈥�
