Ashtyn Ogden is a young independent woman with a passion for theater. She has been interested in theater for as long as she could remember. Recently, she took on one of the roles in the school play Little Women. Ashtyn talks about her experiences working with the cast members as well as the character she plays. 

Q: What made you decide to get into acting?

A: I feel like it’s just a really creative outlook for me, it always seems to cheer me up like whenever I get to act with other people. I’ve met so many amazing people doing this show and it has helped me a lot. I love music and at first that kind of drew me to it like the musicals and then I realized, I really liked plays and how beautiful they were, that these creators can portray other people and it’s really beautiful.

Q: Tell me about the character you’re playing?

A: So the character I’m playing is Mrs. Mingott is quite the character, she is kind of mean to people and is a little bit socially clueless. She’s very rich. And she has just been a lot of fun to play.

Q: Do you see any characteristics of yourself in your character?

A: A little bit, there’s this one part of the scene where my character says, You two should dance together! And she’s kind of socially clueless, and sometimes I feel like that. I’m like, okay wait I am definitely missing something here. But besides that I don’t like to be mean to people, because treating people with kindness is important.

Q: What is the hardest challenge when playing your character?

A: I would say the hardest part for me at first was trying to play my character with a straight face and just full on being mean to someone, and not being like, oh my gosh I’m so sorry. But also being like, that’s what I said at the same time. That was mostly the hardest part for me in the beginning but I kind of got used to it as I got more into character, I ended up relating to her more.

Q: Have you been in any plays other than little women?

A: No, this is my first one, I took acting camps over the summer and those were really fun.

Q: How would you describe working with other people during rehearsal? Was it awkward at first?

A: It was a little awkward at first, but after one or two rehearsals I realized that, wow, these people are so amazing and we just bonded together really well. Some of us had the same sense of humor, we enjoyed making people laugh and we had just kind of clicked.

Q: Tell me about what you see yourself doing in the future? Do you think you are going to continue acting?

A: I am definitely going to continue acting. I have really enjoyed this experience, and it’s really fun.

Q: Have you read the book Little Women and if so who was your favorite character?

A: I read the book when I was in 6th grade. It was really long but it was such a beautiful story, and I was like oh my gosh I have to be a part of this. My favorite character would probably be Beth. I feel like she was the most gentle character and in the play it mentions that she is basically the conscious of the family. She is the one to keep them all grounded and is really kind and overall a good character.

Q: Why do you enjoy theater? 

A: I remember when I first saw a show it just made me feel something I had never felt before and I want to do that for other people.

by Katelyn Krisa