Senior finds passion in acting, singing

Senior Danny Kawadri, then a sophomore, stepped onto the stage wearing a dashing suit and tie. Hundreds of people stared in silence as the lights of McAfee Center illuminated the stage.

Kawadri began projecting his deep voice across the stage, speed-singing the song “The Speed Test” in the musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” The audience watched in awe as Kawadri’s voice never faltered, accumulating speed and humor by the second. After his piece, a roar of applause rang throughout the auditorium. Kawadri stood on the stage in confidence, trying his best to stay in character, but unable to contain his pride.

Kawadri is one of the school’s many talented actors and singers. Performing has become one of Kawadri’s passions.

Being half Korean and half Syrian, Kawadri acknowledges that he is a minority in a white-dominated entertainment field and that there is “a long way to go” for people of color in the industry. In order to solve this lack of diversity, he said that people should be more open to the arts of different cultures.

“I'm not Christian, yet I sing about Jesus and the Virgin Mary,” Kawadri said. “It doesn't feel like a moral tension at all. To me, it's simply art. When minorities break these media stereotypes, it's considered an anomaly. This frame of mind has to change.”

One instance in which he more aware of being a minority occurred during National Honor Choir, held in Salt Lake City in February. He said the experience was overwhelming, seeing that he was one of the few performers who weren’t white.

“I made a really great friend from Arkansas, and even he said that it was a unique experience talking to someone multiracial, since most of Arkansas in homogeneously white,” Kawadri said.

Through this experience, he realized that places outside of the Bay Area have yet to become ethnically diverse, not only in the entertainment business, but in the community itself.

Kawadri has also noticed, however,  that there has been an increase in diversity in the industry, noting that “Diversity is achievable, but it will take a long time for it to not seem forced or out of place to many people.”

Kawadri auditioned for his first musical “South Pacific” in spring of his freshman year. He intended to use the experience to supplement his vocal performance.

Kawadri’s involvement in choir and classical voice began long before joining theater. He now sings in Chamber Choir and has attended multiple honor choirs such as National Honor Choir.

“Quite suddenly, however, I found myself enjoying theater just as much as studying classical voice,” Kawadri said. “It definitely clicked with me.”

After assimilating into the cast of “South Pacific,” Kawadri was struck by the similarities and contrast between drama and competitive sports. Both encouraged a sense of companionship between teammates and cast members, respectively. According to Kawadri, being in a cast builds a level of trust and strengthens friendships since “it takes a lot of courage to perform in front of others every day.”

Through his experiences in front of an audience, he has encountered roles that he loved to perform, but also roles that he struggled with. As his high school career comes to an end, Kawadri said theater has become a significant aspect of his life. He plans to continue in college with a major in classical music with an emphasis on voice. He hopes to one day star in his dream role of Captain Georg von Trapp in the musical “Sound of Music.”

“Live performance is the closest that you'll ever get to the barrier between reality and fiction,” Kawadri said.