By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
Marlborough – Alyssa Chamberlain, a rising senior and honor student at Marlborough High School (MHS), is in her fifth year performing with “Mixed Emotions,” a Boston-based singing troupe consisting of teens. This outdoor concert season, she?traveled?with the troupe to several communities including a local stop at the Summer Concert Series held at Union Common in her hometown of Marlborough.
Chamberlain said among those in attendance was “a big cheering group,” which included her friends, parents, sisters, family friends and her mother's office staff.
“I really enjoyed that show,” she said. “My friends can's get to our shows most of the time because they'se far away. They finally got to see what it is I's putting all my time and commitment into, and see how well we all perform together.”
It was also a revelation for her fellow performers, who live near the Riverside Theatre Works in Hyde Park, where the group rehearses and performs regularly.
“All of them live about five minutes away from the theater,” she said. “When they got to Marlborough for the show, they all asked, “How do you drive that far every time? It's such a long drive.””
Chamberlain now has a driver's license, but she relied on her parents for transportation to get to rehearsals and shows for many years. She caught the acting bug at age 5 when she performed in “The Christmas Carol” at the Foothills Theatre in Worcester, followed by “Annie” at the Metrowest Family Theater in Sudbury. She next stepped onstage as a seventh-grader in her middle school's production of “Twinderella,” the story of Cinderella and her twin brother, Bob.
As an eighth-grader, Chamberlain auditioned for “Mixed Emotions.”
“I don's usually get nervous when I audition because I think it's fun and I do it a lot,” she said. “But I was nervous auditioning for “Mixed Emotions” because they didn's normally take eighth-graders into the group; normally they waited until you were a freshman.”
Her audition impressed the musical director, and the eighth-grader was accepted into the troupe, which for many years had allowed only ninth- to 12th-graders.
“I was the youngest one at the time,” Chamberlain said. “There were four seniors who were graduating, and the rest were juniors and sophomores.”
Chamberlain is currently the troupe's longest-running member.
“Mixed Emotions” was also scheduled to appear this summer at Wood Park in Hudson, but the show was canceled due to inclement weather. The weather cooperated for their other outdoor concert dates in Milton, Sturbridge and Downtown Crossing in Boston.
In addition to summer concerts, the troupe entertained at Downtown Crossing when Mayor Tom Menino hosted a holiday party for senior citizens.
“It was so much fun because they got up and sang and danced along to our music,” Chamberlain said of the appreciative audience. “Our director loves music from the 1940s, “50s and “60s, and they all loved it, too.”
For the past three years, Chamberlain sang with the MHS mixed chorus and she will join the a cappella choir this school year. She also participated in the school drama club's past three spring musicals. When not performing this summer, she worked as a lifeguard for the Marlborough Recreation Department.
Although Chamberlain has accumulated a lengthy list of performance credits for her resume, she's considering other possibilities after graduating from high school.
“For college, I's looking into graphic design, communications and advertising,” she said. “I also like art a lot, so an option is music and art therapy. I definitely want to keep music in my life, but I don's know yet if that will be my major in college.”