It is a tranquil evening. Hushed whispers are heard in the crowd in quiet anticipation. Phones are raised and positioned, ready to capture the magic on stage. The lights in the auditorium dim, giving way to the spotlight. Anxiously anticipating her turn on stage with legs trembling, Skylar Lu approaches the microphone and prepares to blow the audience away with her voice.
Skylar Lu, a Great Neck South High sophomore, has always been passionate about singing. She first discovered her fascination as a child, singing Disney princess songs around her home. She feels singing is “something to let [my] emotions out. It’s like a filter, a pastime.” While Disney music still resonates with her as a teenager, Skylar’s musical taste has since expanded to encompass Broadway and pop music. Wicked and Hamilton are some of her favorites, along with tunes by Sabrina Carpenter. Whenever she has the time, Skylar tries to catch different Broadway shows and cannot help but move along to their music.
Skylar takes vocal lessons around once a week or two as part of her training. “It’s just for my throat, to make sure my vocal cords are relaxed and can hit the high notes,” she says. Her vocal cords tend to have a lot of tension, so she tries loosening her jaw, making it easier to go up an octave.
Skylar is also passionate about acting and has participated actively in theater productions since elementary school. This year, she was Vivian in South High’s Legally Blonde, portraying a mean yet sophisticated character. She found it especially intriguing to play someone who was so unlike herself. It was fun to explore the disagreeable nature of a misled individual. Skylar put in a lot of effort to prepare herself for her role. “I practiced a lot with moving with my hands because I have a really bad habit of just not moving at all when I’m acting,” she remarks. She also tried incorporating big gestures while simultaneously focusing on controlling her voice and facial expressions.
Skylar’s easygoing and lively temperament is a bright example among her fellow performers. Her Legally Blonde castmate, Maisyn Cardinale, reflects on her experience performing alongside Skylar: “Working with Skylar on the musical was such a positive and rewarding experience. Skylar’s energy and passion were contagious, making every rehearsal exciting. We had so much fun, and even through the stress and pressure, Skylar was positive and calm.”
While singing may seem like a breeze for Skylar, she also faces challenges, such as stage fright. “I get really nervous. I have to drink a lot of water because I feel like my throat’s kind of closed,” she reflects. She also describes how her legs start shaking a few minutes prior to her performance, but once she starts, the tension and nerves seem to melt away. In general, Skylar is more at ease performing in concert choirs since “[She’s] not in the spotlight [alone], [She’s] more in a group, so it’s easier for [her] not to get nervous.” However, she finds more freedom for expression when she is singing solo.
Out of all her performances, Skylar finds a few particularly memorable. In middle school, Skylar was asked by one of her eighth-grade teachers to assist her in the annual Teacher Talent Show. Together, they sang songs from The Little Mermaid, but there was a surprising twist. Skylar was actually singing from backstage! This left the audience in awe, guessing who the mystery performer was. Skylar remembers it being “really exciting, fun, and funny.” Furthermore, Mr. Alan Schwartz, the head of the middle school music department, was so impressed by her voice that he offered Skylar the opportunity to perform for Friday in the Front, a weekly musical event at South Middle School that showcases students’ talent in the performing arts. Another of Skylar’s most prized memories is winning a singing contest in Washington, D.C., for her Chinese school. “I got first place, and that was the first time my Chinese school won a singing competition,” she happily reminisces.
Skylar looks forward to more exciting experiences with singing and hopes to become a vocal teacher one day to help other aspiring performers. She advises beginner singers and actors: “If you want to go into [performing], but you’re just a little nervous about going on stage, I would say just go into it because it gets easier once you’re actually doing it. So just jump in.”
