Kids These Days: Actress Sienna Spektor

Battery Park City 5th grader Sienna Spektor called me from her hotel room in London, Ontario — she’s on the road right now with a touring production of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” and she’s loving it.

“We’ve had awesome audiences — everyone is so friendly,” said the 10-year-old, who’s playing Annie Who. She’s been on tour since October 17 and will keep moving around the country till January 4. Next stop: Baltimore over Thanksgiving, Schenectady, and eventually DC for New Year’s.

It all started for Sienna at Spotlight Kids in Tribeca: as a 5-year-old, she played the wicked witch of the west in “The Wizard of Oz.” The next year at Spotlight she was cast as Wendy in “Peter Pan.” Then it was the part of James in “James and the Giant Peach” at her school on the Lower East Side, and by then she was hooked. She had an agent by age 8.

“It’s been a passion of mine for a really long time,” Sienna said. “I thought, I just love this so much. I love to dance, sing, act — plus it’s a community with all the actors and I love being on stage. I love to share the shows with the audience.”

She played the title role in an off-off-Broadway production in Brooklyn of “Matilda the Musical” and has filmed what her mother said was a rather big part in a movie currently in post-production: “The Hare.” And she has some roles she would love to snag: Annie (“I want to be in that so much — I love the songs and the dances and I love the ending a lot because it’s really sweet.) or something in the new “Stranger Things” on Broadway (“It’s a Broadway show that’s really scary and I haven’t seen too many of those. It’s so unique and so cool.”).

Till then she will keep auditioning, fitting it in around school days (she’s being homeschooled by her parents while on tour) and homework.

“It’s a bit hard,” she said, “but I love it so I keep doing it.”

 

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