Meet two teens hand-selected to travel to the USA and live their musical theatre dream.
Camila and Valeria, musical-theatre-loving sisters from Sydney, are preparing for the trip of a lifetime. They’ve been chosen to travel to the USA in January 2023 to experience the world of performing arts like they never have before! As part of a small group, the Aussie All-Stars, they’ll train on Broadway in New York City, before travelling to Atlanta to represent Australia at the Junior Theatre Festival, the world’s biggest celebration of young people in musical theatre. After that, they’ll head to Los Angeles for some acting masterclasses!
We got to catch up with Camila and Valeria to hear more about their story and how they’re feeling about the exciting adventure that’s coming up.
How did you discover a love for performing arts? Talk us through your journey into musical theatre.
Camila: We have always loved singing. Ever since we were little, we were always performing at school, in choirs, and our living room. Music has always been a part of us and our love for musical theatre started from watching classics like The Sound of Music, Annie, and Mary Poppins. Our parents would take us to watch the musicals that came to Sydney and we would always love them. When Hamilton came out in 2016, we both grew obsessed with the world of Broadway and musical theatre and we started discovering our dream to be professional performers. I think we can both agree that we never looked back.
What is your relationship as sisters like? How do you support each other?
Valeria: We have an amazing relationship and are practically each other’s best friend. Obviously it hasn’t always been like this, especially when we were younger, but we’ve grown to love spending time with each other. I’m super grateful that we have such a great bond and can support each other. Because we both want to pursue musical theatre, we’re constantly supporting each other, going to one another’s performances, and giving the other feedback to improve.
How did you get selected to join the Aussie All-Stars?
Camila: We both auditioned for the group in February this year. We had both been looking for a new opportunity to perform and when we found that this group existed, we knew we had to audition. We prepared a song and a monologue and sent in our online auditions. A few weeks later, we found out that we both got in – we were both so excited! We found out during school so we met up at lunch and just started screaming of excitement!
What are you hoping to learn on your trip?
Valeria: I’m hoping to learn more about what goes into a Broadway musical, and I want to grow as a performer and build my skills with a supportive community.
Camila: I’m also really keen to be able to see how the Broadway world works. I want to learn as much as possible from the people we meet, whether it be the professionals we’ll see or the others on the tour with us.
Have there been times where you’ve had to overcome obstacles to keep moving toward your goals?
Valeria: Yes, all the time! In this industry its likely you’ll get more nos than yeses which has made us grow a lot as people and understand that hard work gets you far. If you work hard, follow your passion, and remember to be optimistic, you’ll get a ‘yes’ – and that will be worth it even if you had to get through 100 rejections to get there. It’s important to keep going even if it seems hard at times. Find people who will support you and get you through those nos.
What is your all-time favourite musical?
Camila: It’s so hard to choose but I love Into the Woods. It’s one of my all-time favourite shows and has such a cool and meaningful story that I just love.
Valeria: It is 10000% In the Heights. This musical means so much because it portrays the story of my culture, and being able to see that in theatre is amazing. It’s also super fun and always makes me smile. I love it to bits.
What is your dream role?
Camila: I would love to play the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods or one of the Disney princesses like Anna from Frozen.
Valeria: Definitely Nina or Vanessa from In the Heights, or Satine from Moulin Rouge.
What’s your advice to other teens pursuing their dreams?
Valeria:
- Always remember what your passion is and how much you love it.
- Be nice and kind to everyone you meet.
- Learn how to get back up again and keep fighting for your dreams even when it gets tough.
- Make connections and find others in that industry who will support you and love you.
Camila: Just go for it. Follow people who do what you want to do for inspiration, reach out and look for new opportunities because eventually you will find the connections you need to make your dreams come true.
You can follow Camila and Valeria’s journey via their Facebook page.
