Humans of Harker: Tamlyn Doll uses acting to channel her emotions

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Heidi Zhang

“When we do dramatic exercises in acting, there are moments where all my friends and I literally just sit in a circle and cry together. It’s absolutely amazing, the way we all have power and control over our emotions and how we can make ourselves feel a certain way. I think it’s absolutely beautiful,” Tamlyn Doll said.

by Heidi Zhang, TALON Asst. Photo Editor

Around campus, Tamlyn Doll’s (12) name is usually mentioned in conjunction with dance. It’s been seven years since she took her first dance class in fifth grade, and she has dedicated thousands of hours in the studio since then.

“Tamlyn’s like the nicest human I’ve ever met. She’s always so polite and friendly to people she meets,” said Charley Huang (10). But the closer you get to her, the more you learn and she really opens up about herself. I’ve just never met someone so sympathetic and understanding as Tamlyn and I’m really glad to be part of the dance community with her.”

Lately, she’s delved into another performing arts passion: acting. The summer before her junior year, Tamlyn attended a performing arts camp and joined an acting program soon after. With the help of her acting coach, she grew to be more confident talking to people and performing on stage.

“When we do dramatic exercises in acting, there are moments where all my friends and I literally just sit in a circle and cry together,” Tamlyn said. “It’s absolutely amazing, the way we all have power and control over our emotions and how we can make ourselves feel a certain way. I think it’s absolutely beautiful.”

Through acting, Tamlyn better understands her emotions and has matured as a person.

“[Acting] has definitely made me look at emotions a different way. I think emotions are something people suppress because they want to feel happy most of the time,” Tamlyn said. “Through acting and embodying all of these different feelings, I’ve grown to realize how much of a gift emotions are.”

Development through acting has lead a change in Tamlyn, as she now has the confidence to speak her opinion and also make new friends. With these changes she’s introduced herself to a lot of new people she has met through acting.

“I’ve realized that changing isn’t a bad thing. I’ve had friendships that have drifted apart in time, but it’s all part of the flow. I’ve changed so much and i kind of like it,” Tamlyn said. “I’m not the same person, but I still have most of the same values even though some of my opinions have changed. A lot of people see change as a scary thing, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.”