Note to parents: What your kids are listening to while being toted from place to place could be influencing what they grow up to be. Parker Jennings’ mom played soundtracks of Broadway musicals. And now Jennings, a junior at Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross, is quite the accomplished singer/actress. At the ninth annual Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards/Shuler Hensley Awards in April, Jennings won best actress for her performance as Dorothy Brock in “42nd Street.” Last year, she won best supporting actress for her portrayal of Mrs. Banks in “Mary Poppins.” Jennings shared why she loves all things musical as she prepared to take the stage in her school’s production of “Oklahoma!” ending May 7.
Q: Do you have interests other than theater?
A: I love to travel. I love reading. I have a record player and I love old music from the '20s and '30s. When I'm in a show, I always try to get the music on vinyl. To be completely honest, I am always at rehearsal.
Q: How long have you been singing/acting?
A: I've been doing this since I was really small. My mom played Broadway soundtracks in the car my entire childhood. My first love was "Wicked" and I wanted to be Glinda — I still want to be Glinda. When I was 9, my ballet teacher who had been on Broadway told us stories about it. That is when it clicked for me that I could actually make a career of this, that it didn't just have to be an "in-the-car" kind of thing.
Q: A lot of actors say they are introverts by nature. What about you?
A: I was never a shy kid. I think I am outgoing and I feel extremely comfortable on stage but I don't know if I am necessarily an extroverted person.
Q: Have you ever had stage fright?
A: I honestly don't think I have. I always have this excitement that I get to go share a story or sing something, a good kind of anxious. And the stage is a very safe place — you have so much freedom to mess up and not be perfect.
Q: Have you ever messed up?
A: There are always going to be mess-ups. I was playing Morticia in the "Addams Family" and on opening night, I completely forgot my lyric. I will never know how I did this but I said something else and it rhymed. Nobody even knew. Things like that happen all the time and you just roll with it.
Q: What has been your favorite role?
A: Mrs. Banks in "Mary Poppins." As weird as this may sound from a 17-year-old, I love playing mothers because I think there is such an innate love there and I love playing older women. Mrs. Banks has such a journey. She is trying to appease her husband who doesn't really appreciate her. She is trying to care for and love her children but she feels she has to hire a nanny. She goes through this beautiful arc of feeling like such an underdog, then becoming so much more.
Q: Least favorite role?
A: There are roles I like less than others but I always try to find something fun in them or something that I can learn from them. Dorothy Brock in "42nd Street" is the hardest role that I have ever played.
Q: What made her so hard?
A: There is not a lot about her even though the character comes from a book. I had to make her myself. And I've been dancing since I was 3 and, when you dance for a long time, it is something in you. Dorothy's big thing is that she is an awful dancer. I was having to think, "Don't point your feet, don't do this, don't do that."
Q: What draws you to musicals?
A: We often say, "Words aren't enough," or "I don't have the words." In a musical, when an actor or character can no longer convey what they are feeling, they turn to song. There is something very powerful in that. As a singer, I can act so strongly through music. I do feel the music.
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