Actress loves job, stage

"The Bird and the Bee", the latest play in performance at the University Playhouse, features many student actors and actresses, but A'Mari Rocheleau sets herself apart from the rest.

Rocheleau hails from Wills Point, TX where she graduated from Wills Point High School. During her time there she turned her attention to the theatre.

"I really got involved acting when I was a freshman in high school, but my friends and family will tell you I've been putting on shows in my living room since I was 3 or 4," Rocheleau said,?

Rocheleau, who has attended Texas A&M University-Commerce for two years, is an Honors College sophomore and a theatre major.

Although Rocheleau snagged a starring role in "The Bird and the Bee", playing the part of Chloe, being front and center all the time doesn't matter much to her. In fact, Rocheleau really enjoys just being part of a company where everyone is on equal in importance and spends time together in and out of the theatre.

"That's what really makes for a good show," Rocheleau said.

"The Bird and the Bee" is actually Rocheleau's third show with the University Playhouse. She took part in "Still Life with Iris" and "Shakespeare's Ontological Magick Circus" during last school year. However, Rocheleau admits her favorite show to perform in thus far is "The Bird and the Bee."

"As cheesy as it may sound, 'The Bird and the Bee' experience has been so amazing and while I'm excited to finally get to share the show with audiences, I'm also not ready for the experience to end," Rocheleau said.

"The Bird and the Bee" presents two plays in distinct and different styles, so the audience experiences two kinds of theatre; however Rocheleau's favorite parts of the show are the amount of diverse characters the audience encounters and the magnetic story line, which really pulls the audience members in.

"It makes you think about how we all act and how our actions affect others," Rocheleau added.

Word around campus says "The Bird and the Bee" is inappropriate. Some theatre professors have even given their students the option to do an outside assignment instead of seeing the play if crude language and sexual situations offend them. Rocheleau has the final word and, as a part of the show, she would know.

"I don't know that I would call it dirty, but provocative might be a good word for it," she said. "I think some of the content may surprise people, just because they're not used to hearing or seeing it while in a theatre. The provocative content is mostly just a matter of the realism of the show. The characters talk the way normal real-life teenagers do and that may take some audience members off-guard."

Rocheleau is in the process of earning her degree in theatre, but she is very realistic and practical when it comes to her desired profession.

"I would love to pursue acting, but in the current economy and in such a difficult business, it's rather hard to be successful," Rocheleau said.

Ultimately, if not acting, Rocheleau would like to be involved in theatre as a box office manager.

Whether or not she becomes an actress or her desired position as a box office manager, one thing not changing is her love for acting.

"There are honestly so many things that I love about [acting]," she said. "Mostly I think my favorite part is just the feeling that you're part of something bigger than just yourself. When the show starts and you feel the lights on your face, you realize that you're getting to tell a great story and through that, you have the opportunity to affect people."