Tracy Turnblad

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Every time I watch a musical, my eyes well with tears as the overture begins. I am overcome with the anticipation building through the theater as the orchestra sets the stage for a few hours of magic. My life is changed after every musical I see, I am swept off my feet by the passion and expression in each one no matter the theme. Even more so, musicals have opened my eyes to the way other people think. Actors in musicals have the power to transmit a message through the music. Actors encounter emotional and mental changes through the process of becoming a character. Through the process they become the character, they master what makes their character unique and get a thorough understanding of their struggles and triumphs. When the time comes…show more content…
Tracy Turnblad has a dream of being a cast member of her favorite singing and dancing after-school program, which is also segregated. To her, performing isn’t black and white; talent is talent. When she finally gets a shot on the show she turns the system completely inside out and rejects the separation system they’ve been using. Her proactive and socially rejected opinion creates a platform for the actors and audience to digest the idea of acceptance of other races and integration. It is commonly understood that the racism of the past and the specific happenings attached to it was wrong. An actor stepping into Tracy’s shoes isn’t just taking the responsibility of singing the songs and saying the lines, she must also translate her passion for equality among races. There is complex research and layers of torment that should be thoroughly understood, well enough understood for it to be similar to having lived the events as the character did. Through her own first-hand experience Tracy developed opinions about racial equality and the actor needs to mimic that. Through the mimicking process, the actor will begin to get a more educated perspective on the race. For example, Tracy’s best friend Penny falls in love with an African American male they go to high school with. Still today, bi-racial couples are frowned upon, but for what reason? An actor who has played Tracy and experienced the love between two people in a bi-racial couple can be a support system in a real-life situation. That actor will take that experience with race and fighting for equality and care it with her in life and in future

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