Starting as a simple night going to support some friends in Southport Sixth Grade Academy theater, then-sixth grader Piper Leber expected an afternoon of entertainment. But as the performance started, it sparked something in her.
“Going to see that (play) for the first time and seeing some of my friends in there, I was like ‘Wow, this seems like something that I could do,’” Leber said.
Since her first time stepping on stage shortly after to her now-sophomore year of high school, Leber has visibly changed over the years. Through facing social obstacles, she has experienced personal growth and turned into the person she is today.
Leber’s theatrical journey first started in seventh grade. In middle school, Leber wanted to experience something new. At the start of her seventh grade school year, she wasn’t able to join the drama club because she was sick at the time and couldn’t attend auditions. But after communicating with the drama club adviser, she was given the opportunity to join the club after a student had left.
Although she had joined late, she surprised her classmates with her talent.
“She had to step in for someone who couldn’t do the performances, so she joined (in) the middle of the rehearsal process,” junior Nienna Wittlief said. “And I was like ‘She’s pretty good for joining late.’”
Throughout her time at Southport Middle, Leber was able to perform in three school plays: “Help Us Mr. Holmes,” “Wicked Witch of Oz” and “Help Desk.”
Once in high school, Leber would continue on with her journey under the guidance of theater director Caleb Francis and choir director Jaclyn Richardson. Together, both directors saw Leber improve, both professionally and socially as a performing arts student.
“It was a progression of Piper,” Richie said, “during the musical this year, when we were working on loosening her up, trying to get her to be a bigger character and just watching her grow from a more shy, reserved person into the character of Alice.”
In middle school and during the beginning of her freshman year, Leber’s timidness would get in her way. She says she used to be “shy” during her performances, but with continued experience, her confidence grew—and so did her social skills.
“At first, I was a shy person, so I was kind of scared of performing in front of a big group of people,” Leber said. “But once I felt more confident with having new friends, I started to grow out of my shell a little bit.”
During this school year’s musical, “The Addams Family,” Leber started to notice the joy of performing on stage as people would approach her to compliment her performance after the show.
“Hearing people tell me that they thought I did a great job really made me think maybe I should do this later in life too,” Leber said.
Throughout the rest of her time in high school and even through college, Leber would like to continue to perform in theater, either majoring or minoring in it.
“I liked seeing her growth,” theater director Caleb Francis said. “She learned how to have a little more fun.”
With the support of her family, friends, classmates, teachers and mentors, her friends say she can follow any path that she desires.
“If she really puts her mind into it, she can do anything she wants,” Wittlief said. “If she just has faith in herself, she’ll be able to do anything.”
