Whiz Kid: Kimberly Simon, writer, dancer, award-winning actress

Most students can only dream of the opportunity to shine in a principal role in the spring musical of their senior year in high school.

It happened last year to John Jorge as Jean Valjean, and Ken Adair as Javier in Les Miserables, and now, it is Kim Simon’s turn.

A dancer since the age of two, she won the role of Velma Kelly in this year’s upcoming musical “Chicago.”

If you meet Kim on the street, or in the school hallway you may immediately think that she is sweet, friendly, outgoing, with just a touch of shyness built in.

Dancing onstage is not a problem for this seasoned pro. She started taking dance lessons (ballet and tap) at the New England Ballet Company in Orange 16 years ago, and worked her way up through the company over the years, and she spends as much time as possible in the studio.

“The ballet company is six days a week hard-core, so I can’t balance that and the play schedule right now, but I do like to take tap and jazz classes when I can,” she said. “With this show we’re dancing a lot.”

She said she loves the role of Velma Kelly. “It is so much fun,” she said with a  laugh. “So much fun. The whole show is so over the top, with such great characters that get to change. Velma is the opposite of Roxy: she’s this sort of innocent girl that blossoms into a star and Velma starts at the top and then has to deal with her downfall when she's not in the spotlight anymore."

“I think she’s such a great character. It’s hard when you’re given a part where you have to shoot your own husband and sister — that has to come from somewhere — there are so many emotions going on at once. She’s definitely smart and she knows what she’s doing; to be able to take what she did and turn it into this glamorous thing, but that was the time period,” she said.

She also loves the versitility of the role, "To be able to act, dance and sing in a show is incredible.”

Her close friend Lauren Larkin plays Roxy Hart. Aside from the countless hours they share in rehearsal, the two often can be seen together outside of school as well.

Many Amity residents will remember Kim for her role as Madame Thenardier in last year’s production of Les Miserables.

She said Velma is so different from the flamboyant Madame Thenardier. “It is so different: her body language and the way she presents herself, the way she speaks and there are spoken scenes that I didn’t have in Les Mis. She has her dramatic moments and her funny moments. It’s a great mix to have on my resume,” she said.

Kim is modest about winning the distinction of best supporting actress in a high school musical in the state of Connecticut for her role of Thenardier.

The nomination came out of the blue and Kim learned about it the day after the final performance, at a time when she and her cast mates were going through Les Mis withdrawal.

“To be nominated (in the same category) as Allie (Kramer), who I adored and marveled at onstage every day, was incredible. We got to stay together for a little longer — the show didn’t have to end yet because we still had to rehearse for the awards show, which was two weeks later — and just to be with everyone again was great,” she said. “After seeing all the other high schools perform, I though ‘no way will any of us win this,’ but I thought Allie, who put her whole self out there on that stage during every performance really deserved to win.”

Kim said she was shocked when she walked away with the award. “Madame Thenardier is not a part that wins awards, so it was such an honor,” she said.

In addition to her acting and dancing skills, Kim is a prolific journalist and writes for the Amity High School newspaper, “The Trident.” For four years she’s written for the Arts & Entertainment section. But her heart lies with the acting.

As a student, she likes math classes and credits her teachers Rebecca Hastings and Tasia Kimball for holding her interest in her favorite humanities course this year.

She also is a member of the Link Crew, which gives incoming freshmen a friend to talk to. “Some of my Link Crew kids are in Chicago this year, so it’s great to see them coming this far.”

She said directors Rob and Andrea Kennedy are enthusiastic and happy to be there working on the show with the kids every day.

“We’re all working hard to make it the best it can be. I was in the first production that the Kennedy’s did here at Amity (Grease) and I remember going around asking people to buy tickets up until the night of the show. Now we sell out so quickly, it’s amazing to see how things have changed since they came here.”

Come see Kim and the rest of the hard-working cast of “Chicago” on April 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th & 9th 2011 at 8 p.m.