‘Nailed that’: Mean Girls star appearing in Fiddler on the Roof April 4-6

By SAFFRON BLAND 
The Tower 

Karthikeyan KR, otherwise known as KR, is a senior at Manteca High focusing on becoming an actor. He has been doing theatre and musical theatre since he first moved to Manteca from Independence High in San Jose.

KR has taken opportunity after opportunity to improve and grow his acting skills to the best of his ability. Even when he was a young boy, he wanted to perform for others.

While at Manteca High he has been in six plays, including Sense and Sensibility, Canterville Ghost, The Day the Internet Died, and The Crucible, among others. KR’s first musical was Mean Girls, where he got to perform as Kevin G. Next, he is going to star in Manteca High’s upcoming play Fiddler on the Roof, which will run from April 4-6. 

“I didn’t even know at the time that his original language was the same as Kevin G,” theatre teacher Dawn Coyan said, “but I knew he could dance like Kevin G, and I knew he could come up with that snarky attitude and he did he nailed that.” 

Coyan has also stated KR should be doing post high school theatre.  

“For college level, absolutely, he should be doing theatre,” she said.  

The Tower sat down with Manteca High’s budding actor and discussed his love for theatre. 

The Tower: When did you start doing theatre? 

Karthikeyan KR: I started doing theater when I was in 10th grade, sophomore year, term 2. 

TT: What opportunities have you taken to do more theatre? 

KR: I've always been entertaining people through dance, or you know, like acting like someone else as a kid. So, I thought theater was my go-to kind of place because I wanted to act in front of a camera and a larger audience. 

TT: What shows have you been in? 

KR: I've been in two musicals. One is the Mean Girls musical ... and the other one is Fiddler on the Roof, which is the one that I'm doing right now. It's going to be on April 4-6. I've been in a lot of intermediate and advanced theater plays. I don't know if I could list them all. ... They've all been pretty nice; some parts were challenging, and some parts were pretty easy. 

TT: Do you plan on pursuing theatre in the future? 

KR: Yes, I plan on pursuing theater in the future. I am also interested in filmmaking. 

TT: Do you have anything you want to improve on in theatre? 

KR: Do I have anything to improve my acting skills? Even though I feel like I'm a better actor. I need to work on my expressions, maybe my voice, maybe my vocal strength. And I'm okay with my lines. I'm good at memorizing and stuff but other than that, maybe characterization understanding.   

TT: What are the benefits of joining? 

KR: I don't know about money wise, but if you want to pursue acting in a movie field or like in the cinema field, maybe you would have to, you know, learn more about acting and work on like in a lot of plays, contribute in like a lot of theater society and maybe trying to think what other benefits. You can create a lot of friendships in theatre, which is a really good thing. 

TT: What is your favorite part about theatre? 

KR: It’s helped me control (my) emotions a little bit, like when you're on stage or you're like in a different character.