Adya Mohanty's musical talents

Adya Mohanty (’18) is an active participant in almost every performing art offered at Samo. This talented senior is a floutist in the Symphony Orchestra, Soprano 1 section leader in Madrigals and the star of the fall musical “Zoot Suit.” She has been involved in the orchestra, choir and theater programs at Samo for four years and has participated in every school production. In addition, Mohanty plays primary roles in the Mock Trial program, an arrangement where students perform scripted court cases.As a floutist in Symphony Orchestra, Mohanty is one of only four other flute players, making her role extremely important. Each performance is practically a solo for her, as she is usually the only one playing a specific part. Also, with the orchestra she participates in competitions such as SCSBOA ensemble and will be traveling with the symphony to Argentina this Spring.Being the Soprano 1 section leader in Madrigals entails that Mohanty expresses superior leadership qualities, in addition to her singing talent. With the choir, she partakes in group competitions. Her experience with the choir is apparent in her musical theater performances, more specifically her singing solos. In Mock Trial, Mohanty acts as a certain role in a criminal case and competes against other schools. This year she is a prosecution attorney of the Blue Team. In this role, Mohanty advocates for her client by creating questions for cross and direct examination, as well as arguing against the defendant. This allows her to combine her intellectual abilities and her acting talents.Not only does Mohanty excel in arts affiliated with the school, but she is also associated with the Santa Monica Actor’s Repertory Theater Company. Here, she performs family shows and evening/adult shows, such as playing the evil queen Coo-eeh-oh in “Dorothy’s Adventures in Oz”, Louise in “Annie Oakley and the Princess Cafe” and “Author! Author!”.Additionally, Mohanty gains teaching experience as an instructor at the Santa Monica Playhouse during winter, spring and summer theater. This entails leading classes which she has organized and coordinated herself. However, her connection to the Playhouse goes deeper than just teaching classes, as this is where Mohanty first began her acting career when she was only six years old.Over the past 11 years, acting has sculpted Mohanty’s personality and resulted in her current day character.“I was very shy as a kid and theater became a way for me to express myself. Theater is very special to me for many reasons. It started as an escape for me; a cathartic activity that let me transform into different characters and travel to new worlds,” Mohanty said. For Mohanty, acting is not only an occasion for her to perform to an intrigued audience, but also an opportunity to connect to her other interests, including literature and politics.This is especially apparent in her involvement with “Zoot Suit.” Acting also influences her view of the world and her opinion concerning overall conflicts throughout our community.“As I grew older, the theater became much more to me, as I started reading more plays and analyzing the famous playwrights. I realized the power of social commentary through theater, and in my opinion, theater is one of the most effective forms of activism,” Mohanty said. “Theater has taken on a whole new meaning for me now that it is about something bigger than myself. Through every production I think about what social change I am trying to enact and I perform with that intention in mind.”As of now, Mohanty hopes to continue participating in acting and theater in college, but she is not sure if she wants to pursue theater as her major. She is currently applying, and sometimes auditioning, for a variety of colleges as an undecided major, leaving her options open. History, political science, economics and literature are all topics that interest Mohanty and would be beneficial for her acting or even playwriting. Nevertheless, she does not want to limit herself to humanities and displays enthusiasm towards science and math as well.Although Mohanty’s future is not set in stone, by the current course of her life it will certainly be successful and accomplished.