Bailey Julian
From singing in the comfort of her own home to performing center stage in front of hundreds, senior Christine Chragian has been actively pursuing her passion for performing since she was very young. At five years old, she started playing the piano which resulted in her singing at age seven and receiving vocal training at age ten. In addition, she never thought that Show Choir would be such a big part of her life.
Starting in middle school when she first started watching the acclaimed FOX TV show Glee, her new obsession for show choir started.
“Rachel Berry was a big inspiration of mine. I watched her when I was in middle school and I knew that was what I wanted to do in high school,” Chragian said.
In spring 2015, she started high school and auditioned for the Granada Hills Charter High School (GHC) choir. She started with the schools co-ed show choir G-Notes, and remained on the team throughout high school. While working harder every year to be a better performer, she found another inspiration in her life. The GHC Show Choir choreographer, Amanda Richardson, has been choreographing for the school since 2013.
“She has taught me to pursue something in the future and has helped me understand how valuable I am as a performer. She pushed me through a lot of things I thought I couldn’t get through and helped me become the performer I am now,” Chragian said.
Chragian has thrived in the show choir since the first year, with a solo in every set since she started, and she won Best Soloist award at two Show Choir competitions.
Adding onto her show choir capabilities, Chragian has been in every musical that the school has put on since she first enrolled. In her freshman year, she landed the role of Fantine, a lead role in “Les Miserables,” which launched her high school drama career.
“It was really fun but I had no idea what I was doing. I was intimidated because I was just a freshman, but everyone was very supportive and helped me. When I performed for the first time, during the bows, experiencing the applause felt amazing, recognition for all my hard work.” Chragian said.
In this year’s production of “Legally Blonde,” she landed the lead role of Elle Woods. However, through all of the exciting productions and the activities she participates in, Chragian has faced challenges in balancing her academics and extracurriculars. With the responsibilities that come with playing the lead in the musical, participating in AP Capstone, and being the president of G-Notes, Chragian admits she can get overwhelmed.
“I push through it because I know I’m graduating soon and all of this will be over. I want to make the most of it and have the great memories with the people I love. So I sleep tonight or memorize lines, it’s one or the other,” Chragian said.
Her passion has followed her the last ten years, and since then she has found more that she loves about performing. Because of show choir she found acting exciting and through that she found musicals, which now she finds thrilling. Now Chragian is off to college, not knowing what’s next in her journey as a performer.
The Plaid Press 