Professor Warford the singer and Performer
November 28, 2012
783 words
McGee
Professor and PERFORMER
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| photo courtesy of Ms. Elyse Warford |
Outside of being a professor of Communication, Ms. Elyse Warford is a performer where she sings and acts. She performs in different theater plays and musicals locally for school and for her church. When she’s on stage she feels like a different person, and she lets her inner ego take control. She becomes her own “Sasha Fierce” just like her favorite artist Beyonce’. She says “I love to take on the role on whatever I’m doing.” Last fall Ms. Elyse Warford played a New Jersey badass named Rizzo. Rizzo had a strong New Jersey accent, always smacked on a piece of gum, and smoked cigarettes all the time. Ms. Warford said “I tried to become her.”
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| Ms. Warford playing the part of Rizzo in the musical Grease. Photo courtesy of Ms. Elyse Warford |
Ms.Warford was born and raised in a small town in Northwest Arkansas known as Springdale. She graduated high school from Springdale High School . When she went to college she decided to attend the University of Arkansas located in Fayetteville, AK. The University of Arkansas is the largest University in its state. There she received her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in communication. Ms. Warford attempted to get her PH.D at the University of Georgia but decided she wanted to start her career after only a semester of school.
Her eyes lit up when asked about her childhood. Maybe there’s something about a flashback of the past and thinking about the good times when you had no worries in life. When she was younger she stated “I wanted to be a number of things.” First she wanted to be a grocery store “checker”, a veterinarian, a teacher, and finally a singer by the age of 17 after hearing her first Destiny’s Child Cd and that is where it all began.
She was different from her peers during that time, because while they were listening to country and pop music Ms. Warford liked to rock to the tunes of R&B. She liked the lyrics of empowerment like the women’s anthem “I ‘m a Survivor” sang by girl group Destiny’s Child. “R&B was fun and interesting,” said Ms. Warford. If she had to pick who she could be like if she was a famous singer it would be Beyonce she said. “She held herself as an artist, she was not into any scandals, and was very private and classy.”
Her most memorable role was the role she played at 17 years old in her high school musical performance of West Side Story. According to westsidestory.com the first West Side Story opened and performed at the Winter Garden Theater on September 26, 1957.She explained that it was a modern version of Romeo and Juliet based in New York, for those who don’t know what West Side Story is all about; The Sharks versus the Jets. She had the opportunity to do all the things she enjoys doing, singing, dancing, and acting all in one. “Everyone said I was convincing” she said. Ms. Warford played the part of a Puerto Rican girl named Anita. To become her part she dyed her hair black, tanned non-stop to get the nice bronze color of her skin, and practiced her Spanish accent for nearly three months.
To prepare for upcoming performances she has to learn all the lines, learn all the songs and solos, and all the choreography. Ms. Warford let it be known that Choreography is not just the dancing aspect “it’s where to move, the steps that go with each song, lights, and props.”
When she was younger she never really knew she could sing. She was about five years old she told her mom she wanted to sing in a talent show. Her mom let her down a little easy, letting her know that they really didn’t have good singing voices in their family. Her mom didn’t want her to embarrass herself, so she spared her the trouble. But by the age of nine when she started singing for church, she realized she really could sing and music was her escape outside of everything else in life. Ms. Warford figured if she couldn’t have music as a career, she still wanted to be involved with it somehow. If she was not a professor she could definitely see herself being a professional performer for theater and musical broadways, “I wouldn’t want to be famous, but something dealing with music.”
Every artist or performer has their biggest fan, and Ms. Warford’s biggest supporters are her parents. “My parents always supported and encouraged me to do as much as I could.” They never held her back, and wanted her to go as far as she could in life.
