Theater is in 9th grader Melina Zimet’s blood.

“My mom has always loved theater. So when I was really little, she would play recordings of Broadway shows,” she said. “And then we discovered this little group called Black Box Players ….It was an amazing first start and it was super fun.”

Zimet’s first role ever was with Black Box Players,  in elementary school, where she played Tiger Lily, who was a very loyal friend of Peter Pan.

In December of 2018, Melina started performing with Four County Players. One of Melina’s first roles with Four County and her favorite role overall was Gladys Herdman in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

“My mom was the mom [of Gladys Herdman],” she explained. “…Gladys is basically this troublesome child. She was also just my personality at the time, so it was really fun.”

Even though Zimet has liked acting since she was little, there was one show that wasn’t her favorite. That was Songs of A New World, which she performed at DMR Adventures. 

Zimet said that she would “just come on stage and sing one song” and that was it. She didn’t like that because of the short amount of time performing.

One of her most recent roles was A Christmas Carol at Four County Players. The shows were performed from Nov. 17 to Dec. 17. She was The Ghost of Christmas Past, along with Martha Cratchit and a child caroler. 

“Rehearsals [for A Christmas Carol] started at the end of September, I think. Each rehearsal would be about three hours and we would do rehearsals four days a week. It was a lot.”

Even though her rehearsals take up most of her free time outside of school, Zimet is still able to finish schoolwork before practices in order to keep performing with Four County in Barboursville.

Recently, Zimet performed in the production of Zink from Feb. 2 to 11. She played two characters, Ashley and Darlene. Ashley is a mean classmate of the main character, while Darlene is the main character’s roommate in the hospital.

“It [Zink] is about a girl with Leukemia who imagines zebras in her head to help her get through her treatment,” she says. “I play two mean girls. I wouldn’t say I’m like them, but I definitely see some parts of them in myself as I’m portraying them.”

For Zimet, the family aspect of theater is an important part of her life. It has shaped her into who she is today.

“And I know it’s different for everyone, but for me I feel the thrill right before I go onstage. Once I’m onstage, I kind of ignore the audience, like I am the character,” Zimet said. “I love the community because you build an entire family. And I love the feeling you get when you are onstage, it’s thrilling.”

Zimet’s next performance will be here at Albemarle, in Godspell. The shows run from May 1-5. Tickets are available for purchase here.