HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA: Siegel High's Payton McCarthy

School's back in session and that means, of course, that another year of theater productions featuring some of Tennessee's most talented young actors is under way. The new academic year also heralds the start of another season of High School Drama, our regular series of feature stories about some of the up-and-coming young actors

Today's spotlight falls on Payton McCarthy, a student at Murfreesboro's Siegel High School, whose astonishing performance in his school's production of Pippin last spring won awards - and acclaim - from audiences and critics alike. Get to know him now and be on the lookout for him on local stages before he becomes a great big star.

What is your theatrical goal in life? To deliver real and honest characters to an audience. I plan on pursuing a Broadway career, but even more important to me than making it big is becoming a performer who can just live onstage as each character, rather than just act as that character.

If you could play any role in any show - what would you choose?There are so many roles out there that I dream of getting to perform one day, but my biggest dream roles are Charlie Price in Kinky Boots and Peter in Bare the Pop Opera. They both just have so much heart and killer music.

What's been your best theatrical experience to date? Last spring, I got the opportunity to play the the title role in Siegel High School's production of Pippin on every other performance. It has been a dream of mine to play that role for as long as I can remember, so the whole process was very surreal to me, and I'm still just so grateful to have had that opportunity and experience.

Who are your favorite actors? My biggest inspirations are Kelli O'Hara, Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes. They are flawless!

What show that you've never seen would you most like to see? I love A Little Night Music and The Wild Party, but I've never gotten the chance to see either of them live yet.

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