I always watched Annie, Sound of Music, and King & I when I was little, so I always had an appreciation for musicals. I was too scared and dangerously shy to actually go onstage and perform until I saw my two older cousins do it during high school. I tried out for my 6th grade play and it all went downhill from there....lol

Now, I go to the same high school as my cousins did when I was little and I study with the same instructors.

I've been watching the old musicals for my entire life... (my mom says that when I was in preschool and the teacher asked me what songs I knew, I said "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend and It's Too Darn Hot.")
I've always liked it, but I got really involved when a youth theatre started in my town.

Disney.
It was always the classic Disney movies like The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Snow White that made me want to sing and perform. First I wanted to just be like a princess, but then I realized that singing didn't make me a princess but rather a performer.
Then I just delved into classic musicals (basically watching TCM and AMC day and night) and then on from there.

Doing Destination Imagination as a little kid sure helped. That, and my dad used to play Phantom, Les Mis, Fiddler, Jekyll and Hyde, and Crazy for You constantly when I was kid

Uh, aside from movies like Beauty & the Beast and The Little Mermaid, probably one defining moment...

(in the middle of The Lion King on Broadway)
Me: [points to Nala] I want to be her.
My mother: Uhhhh...?

Little did I know, a little white girl from New Jersey had little to no chance of being in that show, but when I saw everyone on that stage I knew that's what I wanted to do.

*sings* memmmorriiiieesss...

Well, the first movie I ever saw was "The Wizard of Oz", and I grew up on musicals in general, ESPECIALLY the Disney musicals, "Grease", etc.

Also, after doing my first show, "Godspell Jr." in middle school, I became HOOKED.

Oh my God! I LOVE Destination ImagiNation!! What state did you do it in? I was in the Georgia/Florida district. Easily the highlight of 2007 for me.

<3

Phantom of the Opera movie... yes... that with Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.

I fell in love with the music and the production and with Gerard Butler. Many months later (4 or 5) I found a MSN group, and I went to a meeting a couple of weeks next.

And there was many people who show me that PotO is not the only musical on the world. And that the Phantom DOESN'T have to be handsome

I started dancing when I was younger and when I got a little older I fell in love with Grease and Children of Eden. And then it just kept going from then on. CHICAGO is my absolute favorite though.

I liked the straight theatre and then I heard some songs from Les Mis and Phantom at school so I got into the musicals as well. Had seen the film of Sound of Music and that sort of thing when i was younger but it was only in my mid-teens that I properly got into musical theatre.

I seriously didn't know a time when I wasn't exposed to the Disney musicals/shows.

I thought the prize of my poetry contest was to go to California or something or be in some kind of movie and I was scared to the bone.

Then in second or third grade when I saw a theatre production, I wanted to participate so bad. But I did some kind of drama imagination class, I think? I dunno.

I joined choir in fourth grade just so I could be in the musical, and the rules changed.

But then, when I was in sixth grade, I auditioned, and loved it (although I had a crummy part).

I took a break freshman year (foolish mistake). Now I'm a senior and wishing I started way younger to be so much better than I am (but I'd say I'm okay at the moment).

Annie was the first musical that I ever watched on TV but CATS was the first musical in a theatre and both inspired me greatly.

C x