Sibling rivalry is common among kids. Even as adults, sisters Laura and Sarah Lindahl occasionally find themselves in competition. Now, it’s on a professional basis since Laura is the theater teacher at Snellville’s Brookwood High, and Sarah holds the same job at Mill Creek High in Hoschton.
When the two Gwinnett County schools met at the state theater competition in November, it was sister vs. sister, as well as troupe vs. troupe.
“We both won our regions, so we ended up competing against each other at the statewide championship,” said Sarah, who is 16 months younger than Laura. “It was really close.”
The bragging rights went to Laura, whose Brookwood students placed second in the contest. Sarah’s crew came in third.
“The day closed out with the two Lindahl girls,” said Laura, 46.
The sisters are also carrying on a family tradition. Growing up, they went to theater camps and acted in community productions. Both attended and took part in theater productions at Brookwood High where their parents, Ken and Patty, were the school’s theater directors. The Ken and Patty Lindahl Performing Arts Center there recognizes their 30 years of service.
“I inherited this department from my parents,” said Laura. “They put on eight full shows a year, but when I took over, it was just me. So we cut back to four full-length plays, two musicals and a one-act.”
Before joining the Brookwood faculty seven years ago, Laura had lived in Chicago and California, and acted on cruise ships and in commercials and the theater.
“When my parents retired, I couldn’t imagine anyone else taking over the department,” she said. “I knew I always wanted to teach. Brookwood has always been where I started doing what I love.”
Sarah shares those sentiments. “We were raised in the theater,” she said. “Even as a young kid, I wanted to be a high school theater teacher.”
Sarah taught theater for 15 years in Hall County before joining Mill Creek three years ago. In addition to staging eight plays a year, she recently added a musical theater class.
“We have 52 students, so that tells you how popular it is,” she said. “We’re working on doing ‘The Addams Family’ this spring.”
Laura recently returned to her high school musical days by taking part in a restaging of “Oklahoma!” that Brookwood performed 28 years ago. The show is part of the Disney+ “Encore!” series that reunites students from a high school musical and has them recreate the event.
“They shot us doing the show and me teaching,” said Laura. “Fortunately, the original cast remained really close, but it was a little different from 1991.”
In the recreation, Laura took the lead role opposite her husband, Chris Damiano, a fellow actor and Brookwood grad she didn’t date until later in life. And her parents came back for cameos as well.
“It was a bit weird sitting in the cafeteria again with my friends,” she said. “It felt just like being back in high school.”
Information about Brookwood High is online at gcpsk12.org/brookwoodhs; Mill Creek details are at gcpsk12.org/millcreekhs.
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Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
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