Natalie Joyce Smith

My autobiography in 500 words or less.

I was born doomed to live in the suburbs of Philadelphia for most of my young life. Luckily, my parents sent me to an artsy Quaker private school, where I quickly discovered my love for performing. Much to my delight, I found myself debuting at venues such as my kindergarden's "Parents Visiting Day"-- each performance complete with princess dresses and Disney songs. It didn't take long for me to realize that  I was completely hooked on theatre. I continued to perform throughout high school and was accepted at Penn State's School of Theatre in 2010, much to the dismay of my father who believed I would never have a job with this particular major. He said that because I love to shop, perhaps I should consider a more lucrative career. However, I decided acting was the only job for me. I then spent four of the best years of my life improving and growing as an artist in Penn State's Happy Valley. While in college, I was fortunate enough to study at the British American Drama Academy in London, England, where I grew more as an artist than ever before. I graduated in May 2014 with honors for writing a 10,000 word rant about how much I adore Shakespeare and his timeless heroines. I hope there are many more adventures yet to come!