A Potentially Famous Face in the Halls?
Profile of Sophomore elizabeth Leimkuhler
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Along with the new Lois Lane, Kate Bosworth, and That 70’s Show regular Topher Grace, sophomore Elizabeth Leimkuhler seems to be the likely new candidate to join the more famous Darien natives to bring fame to our small town.
As well as performing in Theater 308 productions, Elizabeth (known to the student body as Lime or Leimkuhler) takes opera lessons once a week after school. “She has an amazing voice, but can be intimidating at times,” freshman Jay Alter said. He and Elizabeth have been practicing to perform in the November production of Dead Man Walking since the beginning of the year. “She’s been a good person to look up to during the production,” Alter added, “On and off the stage.”
Elizabeth began her opera lessons during her freshman year, and has loved it ever since. “My favorite genre is jazz, but everything stems from classical music,” Elizabeth commented. “Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald-- they all had opera training because you can't do anything if you don't know the basics. I started originally to make jazz come more smoothly, but I fell in love with opera along the way.”
After practice, Elizabeth can often be seen belting out the songs that she’s learned wherever she goes. “She’s one of those people who isn’t afraid to be herself,” junior and fellow actress Kathleen Cameron said, “Whether she’s in the theater or not, she’s always kooky.”
Elizabeth's Top 5 Songs that Make her Happy:
- Let's Dance to Joy Division - The Wombats
- Gronlandic Edit - Of Montreal
- We Used to be Friends - The Dandy Warhols
- I Touch Myself - The Divinyls
- Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel
In addition to her performing career, Elizabeth also balances her school work and a raging social life. She wants to go to Yale, and she relies completely on her grades and talent to get her in. “I just make sure that I'm putting what's most important first at all times. For example, during midterms, I put studying before singing, although I sing while I study anyway, and during show week I put homework last,” Elizabeth said.
Although school work can come last at times, it’s certainly not her last priority. “She’s a great student,” Cameron added, “She works really hard.” But she doesn’t shroud herself in solitude every evening either. She maintains a strapping social life and is regularly spotted at picnics at Tilly Pond Park with her fellow theater production mates, at open mic night at The Depot, or sitting at home and having a calm movie night with her parents and friends. “I honestly don't know how she does it. It's like she packs four extra hours into every day: she has time to go to rehearsals and do her homework and learn scripts and cues and music, and yet she still has inordinate amounts of time to hang out with her friends,” her friend senior MacKenzie Cockerill said.
Elizabeth was discovered during middle school when she performed during the lunch hours in the sixth grade with the contemporary string ensemble. “Her voice is phenomenal,” sophomore Emily Crump said, looking back on the performance, “It’s like butter--soothing.” Ever since that day, Elizabeth has been known for her acting, singing, and overall artistic personality. She’s performed in two Theater 308 productions upon coming to school, and is gearing up for her third. “Theater 308 is actually my family away from my family,” Elizabeth said smiling, “During hell week, I spend at least 10 hours a day rehearsing.” Her hard work shows during the productions, which have gotten outstanding reviews. “I think it was fantastic,” Elizabeth said about the upcoming production. “The leads were extremely capable and the supporting cast and crew did a fantastic job. I was excited for everyone to see what we've been slaving over for months!”
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