Sophomore plays 'dream role'

indsey Parker, a 20-year-old sophomore and a theater major, starred as Lady Macbeth in Amarillo College's recent production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Parker started acting at Randall High School because of an injury. She grew up with an athletic family and played volleyball.

During her junior year she was injured and could not play, so she decided to take up acting instead. It turns out there was some talent there.

She has been a part of AC's theater team for three years, taking on many important roles.

Parker said Lady Macbeth was her "dream role" after she read the play in high school. The character was someone she always wanted to play.

"I love to play the strong woman or the villain," she said.

Parker said it's fun to challenge herself and that such roles are difficult because they are nothing that she can relate to. For instance, Lady Macbeth is greed-driven and is out to kill to advance herself.

Parker also played the role of Anna Bell in Luck Stiff and was in the last year's play Timon of Athens.

She doesn't just act. She also designs and makes costumes. She sewed 28 pieces for Macbeth.

Parker spends most of her time working on theater projects, but in her spare time she enjoys reading dramatic literature and comic books. She said she hates poetry, however. She also enjoys painting, shopping and movies.

Parker is a part of the work-study program, so she gets paid for designing and making costumes. She works for an Amarillo software company.

Parker soon will be done at AC but doesn't know where she will continue her education. She plans to attend the Texas Educational Theatre Association festival in Dallas, where she will have a chance to showcase her work and talent to various universities. Some day she would like to teach theater or design costumes.

Parker considers herself a bold and blunt person. "I know who I am," she said.

At this point in her life, she can't imagine where she would be without theater and is grateful to be a part of the AC theater program, which she considers part of her family.

For anyone considering participation in theater, Parker offers some advice:

"Put yourself out there and take a chance. Becoming someone else can be fun, and it is very rewarding."