Junior Zayne Prusia is involved in just about everything that has to do with performing arts. You’ve definitely seen him performing in Synergy’s Midas Touch or in the year’s play as Enter the Body as King Claudius, King of France, and Friar Lawrence. Maybe even The Christmas Tree Farm as E.A.
“I’m very involved in performing arts here at Burke,” Prusia said. “I’m in the honors Concert Choir as the bass section leader. So, we prepare pieces for the district music contest, and we are going to the Buffet West Invitational in February. We also present a spring, fall, and winter concert. They are about three songs each; it’s a lengthy process preparing pieces, but I do my best to lead my section to perform to the best of their abilities. With honors show choir, we perform a twenty-minute set of songand dance, which we use to compete. I am a dance captain/section leader. As a section leader, I have to learn the choreography a bit quicker to be able to teach it to my section, which is the suits. I’m very involved in both choirs that I’m in, and I put a lot of demanding work into both. For theater, I’m on the Thespian Board as the secretary and publicity chair. I make graphics to post on Instagram and manage the social media. I, along with my fellow board members, am in charge of making the drama club activities and presenting our troupe at the Thespian Festival. As a board member, I’m in every production, and it’s really fun to step into each role that I’m in, especially since I only started theater in my sophomore year. It was cool to get these new experiences every year, and I am excited for my first lead role in the spring musical.”
Zayne wasn’t always this outgoing and seen everywhere, kid. He used to be a shy person, someone who didn’t know how to express himself in the way he wanted.
“In middle school, I didn’t have friends. I had no community because we had one choir and no theater program. All my brothers played football, and I didn’t really enjoy it. I felt kind of forced into it. I wasn’t good at it. I would just sit on the bench and watch other people play. I hated it because it wasn’t something I wanted to do.”
This is sadly a narrative that lots of children feel forced into. When you are born into a big family, you struggle to find where you belong. The older siblings have already set the storyline with all of them doing the same things. You could feel that it is expected of you. Zayne slowly found his passion, but it was in a nontraditional way.
“In elementary school, we were required to take music classes and perform at concerts. Fifth grade was when I had a new teacher, Miss Tabitha Vode, who started a choir at Benson West. I joined, which was really nerve-racking since I was the only guy. It was fun, it was then that I got my very first solo in the winter concert singing All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey. It was very bad, but it was my first solo moment. It was fun, and that’s when I fell in love with performing.”
It may seem small to you, but to Zayne, this was a step into his own skin. No longer was he constricted by the narrative. From the disappointments of middle school and feeling like he belonged nowhere, choir gave him the opening to spread his wings and become his own person.
“Freshman year, I joined the bass choir. I enjoyed it with my freshman year teacher. I chose to join the show choir and the concert choir. I fell in love with both. I think that was when it really started coming out of my shell. It led me to become very involved in everything that I can be when it comes to performing arts here and outside of Burke. I had this social anxiety from when I was a small kid. I was even homeschooled in Kindergarten because of how much anxiety I had and medical issues. I was attached to my mom’s hip. I grew up in a big family, so I was always trying to find where I fit in. When I finally found where I belong, in performing arts, it helped me gain confidence, a community, and shape my future. I want to be a music educator. Without performing arts, I would not have found that out.”
