By Maridith Yahl
NKyTribune reporter
Their smiles are contagious and their energy fills the room. Northern Kentucky siblings, Novella and JP Marshall, are busy kids pursuing their careers.
Yes, careers.
Both are in acting, dance, and voice classes. Both maintain “A” grades and are on the academic team. There is also dance team for Novella and competitive baseball for JP.
Currently, they are both featured in Rising Star Casino and Resort’s production of A Christmas Story: The Musical. JP is Schwartz and Novella is Mary Beth in the musical.
JP and Novella Marshall
Novella is also starring in two other musicals, Scrooge Has Left the Building and Merry Christ-Moss, this holiday season while JP will be playing in a baseball tournament at the ESPN Sports Complex in Disney World.
The two auditioned for A Christmas Story: The Musical then a week later began rehearsals. Rehearsing every day, but Mondays, for two weeks, Novella, wise beyond her years, took note of how fast the production came together, including tech, costumes, dancing and acting she pointed out.
“It’s pretty amazing how we’ve gotten it all done,” she says, especially since the cast and crew had only met about two weeks prior to opening.
So how does an 11- and 12-year-old handle being in two or three shows at one time? Novella maintains, “You just have to get everything you can get done at rehearsal. Make sure you write everything down, look over it when you can, and practice it when you can. I don’t have a whole lot of free time so any free time I get is practicing.”
A day for these two budding stars begins by going to school — Gray Middle School in Union.
JP on stage
Afterward, they quickly get ready for some type of rehearsal, class, or practice. If they’re lucky they will be home by 7 p.m. but sometimes it’s as late as 10 p.m. If it’s a late night the kids will get up early and complete homework before heading off to school. Despite this busy schedule Novella does not see her day as much different from her friends.
“My friends are pretty involved, some of them have cheer or gymnastics every night and stuff like that,” she says.
Their friends just as busy but just not doing the traveling as Novella and JP do.
JP, on the other hand, doesn’t really see his day as similar to his friends because, “Fortnite is for boys my age, that’s their whole life.”
This past summer Novella and JP were accepted into A Class Act New York, a weeklong training for 12 to 18-year-olds. JP is only 11 but they made an exception for him. What is even more impressive is that there were only 24 students accepted.
Both were more than thrilled by the experience. Novella enjoyed the professional training and stories about what really goes on, on stage and behind the scenes. JP liked when their director, an experienced Broadway actor, brought other Broadway actors in to talk to them at lunch and even went over their audition songs with them. He especially enjoyed the advice they gave on how to build that particular character even more through their song.
Both loved making new friends. Although they were at the younger end of the age spectrum, they were with peers who all had a lot in common.
Novella comments that “There are not a lot of people in the area who do what we do.”
They liked finding out that others their age have been in as many shows at one time as them, or what type of school they go to, public or private performing arts school.
“Everyone has a story and that’s what I really like to hear. I just like meeting new people who are like me,” says Novella.
In addition, JP really had fun learning the original 1970’s choreography from A Chorus Line. Although, he was glad he didn’t have to land the double pirouette, “because I still can’t land that yet.”
As a young child Novella remembers her mother singing her lullabies. Not your ordinary lullaby, but a show tune from the musical “Guys and Dolls.” Mom was a theatre major in college and the kids grew up on show tunes, sparking their love for the theatre. Novella began dance lessons at the age of two and really liked it, although she’s not too sure how good she was then. When she was old enough to take theatre classes her teacher suggested it, citing her “big personality.”
It was a perfect fit for Novella. In her first production at the age of eight, she landed the starring role of King Louie in the Moss Dance & Performing Arts Academy production of “The Jungle Book.” She hasn’t stopped since.
JP was somewhat interested in all the theatre work his sister was doing. Filling in for her at a voice lesson, JP was persuaded to continue with singing and enter the theatre with his sister.
JP and his other love — baseball
It wasn’t until the summer between his first-grade and second-grade year he really found theatre to be his passion. While on a family trip, JP went to New York and saw his first musical on Broadway, Newsies. JP recalls he “loved [that the boys were] dancing on newspapers.” That’s what started it for him. JP recounts his first role as playing Gerald the Elephant from Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books. He performed the show for kindergarten and first graders. JP said, “Their reactions were so cute. When I said ‘underwear’ they laughed.”
They each have multiple “dream shows” they would love to star in some day. Not surprisingly Novella’s is performing in musicals. Even more specifically, she is enchanted by Ronald Dahl because “I love the creepiness and eeriness but fun imagination that they bring into his world through song and dance, because there is so much you can do with it.” Playing Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Little Red in Into the Woods are her dream roles. She played Little Red previously at the Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta, but it was a shortened version of the show. Novella has her eyes on the full version.
JP says that once his voice lowers he would love the lead in Pippin because he loves the song, “Corner of the Sky.” He mentions the role of Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen but gets even more excited when talking about Hamilton. He aspires to play King George II because he loves his songs. JP deems King George II a “funny character that I could pull off.”
JP is a comedy kind of guy. He doesn’t like serious roles. “I’m not a serious person,” he says. In their current production, JP plays Schwartz, the kid who triple-dog-dares his friend to touch his tongue on the flagpole, persuading him it won’t freeze to it. When asked how he got through the scene without giggling, he promptly explains that it’s not that scene where he has to keep himself from laughing. He finds it hysterical that he gets to say “smart ass” not once but twice in the show.
Thinking ahead, these two already have college on their minds. Novella is watching her senior friends go through the audition process.
Novella on stage
“The audition process these days is very, very strict. I’m just hoping I’ll get into a good college.”
She’s aiming for an NYU or Carnegie Mellon-type of college where she can continue to pursue musical theatre. One way Novella continues to prepare for this is by taking roles that are different for her. In James and the Giant Peach, Jr., she was a grumpy Centipede. Novella is anything but grumpy, but liked the role because “it was a new way of acting for me.”
As for JP, he has it all planned out.
He loves playing baseball, so his number one pick for college is Ball State. “They have a good theatre program and Division 1 baseball team, so that’s perfect for me,” he says.
He also points out that by playing for Ball State he will also get to play big teams like the University of Louisville who get the big scouts looking at them.
So what advice would this super duo give other kids interested in getting into theatre? Both agree to just start now. Whether it’s a program at school or finding a good studio to get professionally trained. Getting good basics on acting, singing, and dancing, but they both emphasize the ‘not waiting’ and ‘starting now’ part.
They are down-to-earth but are thinking ahead and are able to maintain the balance of being kids their age as well.
As a student at Gray Middle School, Novella was selected to take part in the Junior National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. Both Novella and JP were members of Kentucky’s All-State Children’s Choir and part of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council.
Both Novella and JP are students at Gray Middle School. They live in Union with parents, Jonathan and Lisa Damstrom Marshall. Lisa is an attorney at DG Law. Jonathan is a financial advisor with his own firm, DG Advisors.
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Love JP. I work at Erpenbeck and really enjoyed talking to him. Always polite to me and other teachers and students. Lots of luck with your future JP
Love Mrs. Haywood.