Students who have attended Newton’s theater productions or acted in them have probably seen senior Katie Robu in action. Robu has been a part of theater since she was a little girl. She grew up backstage with her parents as actors, making her first appearance on stage at age five. From then on, Robu has been in many shows including every one of the high school’s performances since her freshman year. Robu says that performing gives her a rush and it brings her incredible joy when she is on stage.

Throughout the years Robu has spent a lot of time on stage and has made a lot of great memories from it. One of her favorite memories from theater occurred this summer.

“I got to do quite a bit in a show in Music Theater Wichita, which is like a bigger regional theater. I got to work with a lot of Broadway performers which is super cool, and I got to learn a lot from them,” Robu said.

Although theater is a big part of Robu’s life and has given her some great memories, she still finds time to get involved in many other things that the high school provides.

“I’ve done all of the shows since my freshman year. I’m in like four art classes this year I’ve been in choir classes, I’m in drama club and now probably art club,” Robu said.

Despite all of Robu’s interests, she plans to pursue her first love, theater, into college. She plans to audition for cruise ships, Broadway and off Broadway.

As a way to improve her chances of achieving her dreams, Robu has put a lot of work into improving herself personally as an actress. The people around her have shaped they way she acts and gives performances.

“I feel like I have had a lot of improvements. I’ve been given a lot of opportunities to work with a lot of really talented people so I’ve been able to shape my performance based on the people I’ve worked with I guess,” Robu said. “I do a lot of character studying. So, I find somebody or something that my character, whatever it is, is based off of. So, with the past show that I did, Sister Act, I was a postulate, so I looked to things like The Sound of Music because that’s what that character is. I looked at what other people have done with the part and then I kind of tweak it to make it my own so that I’m not copying another person’s character.”

After all of the years and work that Robu has put into the high school shows she is sad to say goodbye. But, it is also very exciting for her, knowing that she has college performances ahead of her that will provide a new experience with incredibly talented people. Robu will miss performing for the high school.

“(I will miss) being able to, as a more seasoned performer, to help people kind of understand theater more and help the students that are new to it feel more comfortable coming in because theater is super inclusive and a big learning experience for a lot of people. So, as someone who has a lot of experience, being able to help students that are getting into it for the first time is super cool,” Robu said.