Swinging over to tie her hazel-brown hair into a bouncy ponytail, Ellie Lang-Ree (12) prepares to lead warmups for the cast of “Urinetown.” Dynamic notes of Beyonce’s “Get Me Bodied” blast out of the speakers as she proceeds to do jumping jacks in her cream and pink sweater and black leggings. Her energy spreads to the rest of the cast and causes them to laugh and smile.

Ellie has been interested in the performing arts for as long as she can remember. Her first show was when she was five, and she has actively participated in several productions since then. Three years ago, her sister directed a show, introducing Ellie to the world of directing.

“I’ve been involved in the arts for as long as I can remember in one form or the other. I think it’s just amazing because you could do this for your entire life and never get bored because there are so many aspects of what you could do in the entire world of theater,” Ellie said.

This year, Ellie directed a show called “Stop Kiss” in the Student Directed Showcase.

“I chose ‘Stop Kiss’ because it has this wonderful message of love that I wanted to spread using theater. It feels like there’s a lack of it in our world sometimes, and I was hoping everyone in the audience would relate to this story about recovery, love, and what we would do for the people we love,” she said when explaining why she chose the show.

When asked about her experience directing in the showcase, she said, “It’s been so much fun. I’ve been thinking about doing this since I was eleven years old, and my oldest sister was a director, and then my middle sister was a director. I’ve just been thinking about this experience for so long, and to actually be in it now and to be working with my cast because it was all in my head for so long, even after I chose a show, was just amazing.”

Ellie said that Harker’s warm and friendly community has taught her to embrace diversity among students and also their interests and passions. Performing has been an escape from her usual school life.

“I think [performing] is a really good balance for me because we’re very academic here at Harker, so it’s the perfect opposite to be as creative and expressive as I want,” she said.

Performing has opened so many doors for her in addition to technical and creative experience. Ellie says that she has met almost all of her friends through the arts.

“When I hang out with her at rehearsal, she’s really focused, but at the same time, she makes time to make jokes under her breath,” said her close friend Emmy Huchley (12). “Just being around her, regardless of if we’re working or not, is just really fun.”

Ellie jokes that both in and out of rehearsal she is the “mom friend” as she always makes her friends take a “snack break” when they’re studying and encourages them to get sufficient sleep.

“She’s really considerate and always makes sure that whatever you’re going through, you feel fine and safe,” her long-time friend Sophia Angus (12) said. “She’s so compassionate. She’s so invested in her relationships with other people. That’s one of my favorite things about her: her commitment to her friends.”

No matter what, as Sophia said, Ellie always takes care of her loved ones and remembers the small details of each person’s life. “She’s really considerate and always makes sure that whatever you’re going through, you feel fine and safe,” Sophia said.

Because of her passion for performing, she also enjoys teaching it and allowing others to enjoy it too using her compassionate ways of communicating. She says her favorite age group to teach is middle schoolers although most people would disagree because they are usually seen as rebellious and difficult.

“They’re going through this time in their lives where they want to make a connection with you and express themselves and learn. There’s such a hunger to learn. In my experience, they’re the best kind of people who want to work and are so excited about their future but are still caught up in the childhood wonder of trying new things,” she said.

Ellie started teaching four years ago at the Peninsula Youth Theater (PYT) in Mountain View. Since then, she has taught theater, directing, costume design, Shakespeare and lighting design to middle schoolers. All of this teaching experience has also taught Ellie many life lessons in return. She says that she has learned to look at problems as a whole and to step back in order to see the bigger picture.

“I think it’s really informative when you’re teaching others because you can reflect on yourself and how you learn from watching others,” she said. “I think teaching has given me a lot more patience, especially with myself, because I put a lot of pressure on myself when I’m learning something new.”

Ellie has taken these lessons into the classroom to become a better student. Her music director Catherine Snider said, “Ellie is a force of nature in rehearsal and on stage. She’s focused, engaged, supportive, eager, grateful and curious.”

Being an active member of the performing arts, a caring friend, and an engaged student and teacher, Ellie hopes to leave a mark on Harker.

“I want to leave a positive impact both in the classroom, onstage, and among my peers and my community as a whole,” Ellie said.