The theatre bug bit Brian Wang back in elementary school in China when he performed in a chorus, but now that he’s a junior at AFS, it’s become a full-fledged fever.

Why is he so passionate about theatre? It gives him a way to try on different characters, at least while he is on stage.

“Everyone has a personal identity and you usually don’t change much,” he said. “In theatre, everyone acts. You try on different personalities and can experiment.”

He finds playing a part on stage and getting into a character beneficial in other parts of his life as well. “You can understand other people better,” he said.

In the Upper School fall play, “Sense and Sensibility,” Brian was awarded a significant role as Sir John Middleton, a man who likes to have dinner with friends and gossip. He played the role with gusto.

“I calm myself down and get into character,” he said.

Not long after he first arrived at AFS as a sophomore, he asked Theatre Teacher Megan Hollinger to recommend 20 plays that were must-reads for him. Since then, he’s been cutting through the list, and attending professional theatre in Philly.

After taking Megan’s Acting I class at AFS, he had a better sense of how to read a script. Now, when he goes to see professional plays, he’s looking at the work differently.

“When I see a play, I focus on how the actors express their lines, how they use their bodies to express themselves. I feel I learn a lot from them,” he said.

What does the future hold for Brian? He’s pretty sure he will pursue an academic route in college, which is what his family expects of him, but he also hopes that acting and the theatre can still be a part of his life, even if only as an avocation.

The hallways at Abington Friends are brimming with students who are on a journey, exploring fresh ideas and pursuing deep interests as they search to find their places in the world. Their eyes shine as they talk fervently about wanting to learn all they can in a field of academics, athletics or the arts.

Read more about “The Discoverers” in the Fall/Winter 2016 issue of Oak Leaves.