As the curtains close on theater performance senior Gabriella Elizabeth Enriquez’s time at MSU, she does not plan on staying out of the spotlight for too long.
Enriquez has been performing since she was a child, with her first role being a side character in “Jungle Book Junior.”
”My first show that I did was in the fourth grade. I was in Jungle Book Junior. I played Buck, the buck,” Enriquez said.
At MSU, Enriquez performed in many roles including Jenny Hill in “Big Fish,” Nym in “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” Betty Bumbrake in “Peter and the Starcatcher” and Druisilla in “L’inconoronazione di Poppea” with her favorite being her last role at MSU.
On April 28, Enriquez took MSU’s stage for the last time. She played Mabel in “Pirates of Penzance,” and it became one of her favorite roles.
“It was my first, like, major lead role here. Yeah, it was a lot of fun, it was a great process,” Enriquez said.
The role of Mabel is usually played very sweetly. Many actresses portray her as soft and the ideal love interest. Enriquez decided to turn that on its head, giving her a much stronger personality.
“So usually, she’s played very sweet and kind of like, very Disney Princess-esque, and I tried to go away from that a little bit and have a little bit more fun with her. So we made her pretty tough,” Enriquez explained, continuing, “I like to say, like, she’s kind of like Fionna of the Disney princesses, um, which was a lot of fun. I joked about having, like, a hidden knife somewhere on me, like, trying to fight the pirates. Y’know, not being the damsel.”
Mabel was a dream role for Enriquez and looking at her other dream role, it makes sense as to why she played to Mabel’s strength. Enriquez’s other dream role is Vilma Kelly from “Chicago.”
“She’s a badass, she’s awesome. She knows what she wants, she kills for what she wants, obviously, and she’s willing to like, put aside her need to be the star to be the star to work with, y’know, Roxie to get back into the limelight. So I just think, it’s a beautiful tragic story,” Enriquez said.
While Enriquez enjoyed her time as Mabel, the fact that it was her last role made it sentimental.
“It’s bittersweet, I’m excited to see what comes next. But you know, thinking about, I don’t know, thinking about it being my last role, I was happy it was because- I don’t know, like I said it was a dream role of mine, so it was a lot of fun to do,” Enriquez said.
Enriquez has learned a lot from her time at MSU. Performing at MSU has helped her be confident in herself and keep her grounded.
“I think my time here has really taught me, you gotta be true to yourself. Know, know what you have to offer, I think. Like, know where you are talent wise, and like, trust in yourself, be confident in yourself. But also, really know how to work with people. And um, yeah, not lose sight of what you want,” Enriquez said.
After graduating, Enriquez has a few job offers lined up and plans to use her free time to audition for shows. For students who plan to follow in a similar path as Enriquez, she encourages them to be confident in themselves and go after what they want.
“Just be confident, know your worth. Don’t let people try and take advantage of you. Like, know what you want and don’t be afraid to get it,” Enriquez said.
