Stage sisters

Sisters always have a special bond with one another -- and that holds true for the "three sisters" at Valley Performing Arts.

Aurora Pease, Hillarie Putnam and Sarah Hendricks have grown up together on the Valley Performing Arts stage, essentially spending their childhoods side-by-side, taking on new roles every season. For the better part of a decade, they have competed against each other for parts, but at the end of the day, they remain close friends.

"We give it our all, and we've had our spats before, but if we were to hold grudges, we wouldn't be here together," Hendricks, a 16-year-old Colony student, said. "We're better friends than that."

Pease, a 20-year-old student at University of Alaska Anchorage, said having her two good friends around her has always been a source of comfort during productions.

"It's so nice being able to have in the show a couple people you really trust and love working with," Pease said. "That's how we are -- we totally trust each other, and really like working with each other."

That kind of synergy even extends behind the curtain.

"We know what each other is going to do, because we've been together so long," Putnam, a 15-year-old Wasilla High School student, said. "We are even synchronized in the dressing room. I know what they're going to do, and they know what I'm going to do. We can fly through quick changes."

The three have performed together many times, including during the current run of "Sweet Charity," in which Putnam has the second female lead.

While they all love acting and being on the stage, they are far from the same person off of it.

Even in their differences, they share plenty of similarities -- they are all extremely bright, talented and dedicated young women who enjoy what theater offers to young people.

Hendricks is all-consumed by theater, spending most of her free time at Machetanz Theatre, the home of Valley Performing Arts. Pease, however, is a college student who is studying theater, and her time is being pulled in several directions. Putnam is a standout athlete who enjoys the competition sports bring, but also enjoys stepping off the court and onto the stage because theater is an outlet for her.

"My friends think I'm nuts for giving up my nights and weekends for this, but it's worth it," Putnam said.

All three came to the VPA stage differently. Hendricks got started in 1995, as a first-grader. Her mom saw an ad for "Gypsy," and Hendricks answered the casting call. On opening night, she threw up on stage. The fact she is still acting speaks to her dedication.

"People thought it was stage fright, but we had a whole cast of people who were really, really sick," said Grant Olson, who has worked with the trio for years. "It wasn't stage fright. She was actually sick. But that story is still around."

Pease first entered the VPA spotlight in 1994, when she was nine. As a homeschool student, she worked hard on things like poetry as part of her mother's curriculum. She showed up for an audition for "Narnia," and started appearing regularly after that.

Putnam's first taste of theater came through the VPA summer camp. She tried it, and found that she really liked acting. Her parents are also involved, helping with costuming and set design at VPA.

All three say the most fun thing about performing is the chance to take on a role, and step outside of their normal personalities, several times a year during VPA productions.

"I love the fact that I can come on stage and learn from another character's mistakes," Pease said. "And the people involved with VPA teach you so much. It's a colorful array of people, and everyone gives you a strand of themselves that you can learn from. For me, being homeschooled, it was like being taught by a community."

Hendricks said playing other roles give her some excitement.

"It is so much more exciting getting to play someone else, someone so different from yourself," Hendricks said. "You get to make their stories come to life and show different sides of a character."

They have all appeared in numerous musicals, but it's the serious roles they seem to cherish most.

"I like musicals, but I do really love dramatic roles, and I want to do more of them," Pease said. "Historic plays take you and shake your world. And Shakespeare, that's my favorite thing to do."

Hendricks said dramatic roles can only help her grow on stage.

"I'm getting into less musical roles and into more dramatic roles, because I think they push my abilities more as an actress," Hendricks said. "And I want to be pushed to get better."

Pease and Hendricks are taking on a new role later this VPA season. Pease is going to direct "Godspell," VPA's children's production, with Hendricks at her side as assistant director.

They have already started recruiting students for on-stage roles, and they are welcoming the opportunity to expand their theater r/sum/s.

"It's going to be totally different than what we've done before, but a lot of fun," Pease said.

Fun, it seems, is what they are all about. After all, the oldest of the trio is 20. As for their future on stage, chances are they'll be together for a while.

"It's harder when we are split up," Pease said. "I like it a lot more when we're together."

Pease is studying theater, and that's an avenue Hendricks wants to take when she gets to college.

Putnam, however, said that while she really enjoys theater, she doesn't think of it as a career option.

"Theater is part of my family. I'm only a sophomore, so I've got time," Putnam said. "I really want to be a doctor, but I'm sure I'll do some acting."