Dazzling fireworks and decorative birthday cakes are the essence of July for Alessandra Sisca, Senior.  While she celebrates the Fourth of July with usual traditions, the day marks the end of a two-day celebration that begins with her July third birthday.

“I don’t really think of it like my birthday,” Sisca said.  “When it’s Fourth of July, I do what most people do—if we’re at the beach, sometimes [my family will] do a cookout and we’ll go to the parade—if we’re home we’ll do something quiet.  My neighbors go up to Washington and buy fireworks, and basically you hear them from the time it barely gets dark until midnight.  So we basically get our own firework show.”

The excitement of this summer has transitioned straight into the new school year.  Sisca has been absent from Amplifier for the past two years, but she has decided to return to West Linn High School’s independent newspaper for her final year in high school.

For Sisca, freshman year of high school marked the beginning of a journey and a new passion.  Sisca has worked with the Oregon City Children’s Theater as an aide in shows and a mentor to young actors for the last four years.  The organization, according to Sisca, is an independently-run program that is “an open theater to anybody.”

For two shows, she has worked backstage, and recently Sisca debuted as an actress in two other shows.  The shows that she has acted in were “Alice in Wonderland” as a Jabberwocky and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” as an Italian reporter.  She was able to take advantage of her Italian heritage by displaying an authentic Italian accent.

“I kind of tried to imitate the way my grandparents speak,” Sisca said.

Because the productions are put on by a small collection of people, fundraising is done completely by those who run it.  The sets, according to Sisca, are not as extravagant as Broadway and even some high school displays, but she considers them to be a good quality for a community theater.  Sisca’s favorite set was from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

“It was a lot of fun to set up all the rooms in the factory, “ Sisca said.  “It was a lot of fun to watch everything come to life.”

Sisca feels that theater has helped herself grow as a person.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself through theater.  It’s kind of fun because the director, Michelle, makes the experience fun for everyone,” Sisca said.