El Camino Union

Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Arts

Media Credit: JENNIFER SIOPONGCO Farren Ronquillo, 22, fine arts major continues to pursue her dreams of acting

For theater major Farren Ronquillo, life has been nothing short of lights, cameras and action.

Ronquillo, 22, first fell in love with theater when she was only in the third grade. Her first performance was in a musical where she performed and sang in front of people for the first time. She became engrossed with acting and it has been her passion ever since.

"The adrenaline rush is amazing," Ronquillo said. "I can still remember the first time in front of all those people, and getting all the attention. A lot of people would have been nervous, but I actually thrived on it."

After performing in the third grade, Ronquillo took on many roles as a child performing in plays such as "The Wizard of Oz" where she played three characters. During the play, she vividly remembered changing outfits three times into wellknown characters: a munchkin, a monkey and an Ozian (person from Oz).

"'Wizard of Oz'was one of my favorites," Ronquillo said. "Playing those three characters made me realize that at such a young age, I was flexible and open to different roles and during that play I performed all three very well."

Although she enjoyed being in different plays and musicals, she described her grade school experience as being difficult. It is something she always carries with her as a motivational tool to constantly remind her of the struggles she overcame.

While attending St. Anthony Catholic School, she described her tenure there from the third grade through the sixth grade as a "living hell" simply because she was bullied and abused emotionally and spiritually.

"Grade school was tough for me, I was actually traumatized," Ronquillo said. "The popular girls would call me names and tease me each and every single day. They would call me a 'loner,' and a bunch of other profane names. I hated coming to school."

Because of the abuse that she endured during grade school, it caused Ronquillo to be "locked in a shell." She became very shy and didn't talk to people very often because girls at her school lowered her self-esteem. Ronquillo said she came to a point in her life when she hated herself.

Continued...

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