For Chris Godshall (‘14), being on stage is a “spark”.

Chris Godshall has been acting for four years, three of them here at Forge.  Chris found his inspiration to act when he watched his brother, David Godshall,  perform. Since then, he has starred in 11 different shows. One of his most memorable roles would be Edna, the mother in Hairspray in May 2011.

“I loved that role and all the people involved with the show,” Chris said.

Currently, Chris is rehearsing the role of Monsieur D’Arque in Beauty and the Beast with CYT Fredericksburg (Christian Youth Theatre), and is the understudy of Lumiere. Chris is on costume crew for Lockdown, the VTA play, as well. This year he also plans on trying out for all the shows available. This includes the Annual One-Acts and the musical in the spring.

“Even beyond acting, drama class teaches you to control your emotions and speak in front of people,” Chris said.

Not only does Chris act, but he is also involved with chorus. He uses his voice to get roles in musicals and to help him develop his emotions while acting. Chris finds musicals more appealing, “because song is so emotive, it somehow feels more real.”

This summer, Chris studied theatre at Governor’s School for the Arts at Radford University from June to July.

“Biggest honor of my life,” says Chris.

To qualify for Governor School, Chris went to a county-wide audition, last November, where he performed a monologue and an improv exercise. Once he passed, he went through a district audition where he did another monologue and exercise, an essay, a resume, and received two teacher recommendations.

Chris found Governor’s School rewarding for the skills they taught him, and the friends that he made, who had the same interests.

“Generally, [I learned] how to access deeper wells of emotion and to go into memories I had blocked out, even though they proved to be great resources,” Chris said.