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| Ric Clarke |
Darcy Wright: Talent takes flight
Darcy Wright will tell you that dancing is her downfall as an actress.
But then she dances. Oh, how she dances.
She floats across the floor, gliding among the other players during a rehearsal for the musical, "Cats." Gracefully. Effortlessly.
Yes, Darcy can dance. And sing. And act. In the vernacular of the theater, she's a "triple threat."
She's simply a standout. And therein, lies the problem.
Darcy is meant to meld with the cast, to be a part of the whole. But try as she may, she doesn't blend well. She's just too good.
"She has an energy and a charisma and an effervescence on stage that you can't quit watching," said her brother, Tralen Doler, who is Darcy's director in the Bigfork Summer Playhouse production of "42nd Street."
"It can be an issue, because she's the only one who people watch."
On or off stage, Darcy is also a charmer. She's warm and genuine and naively modest.
There's still a trace of the adorable 12-year-old girl who dazzled Coeur d'Alene audiences as the lead in "Annie." But Darcy has grown up.
She's now a stunning 23-year-old show-stopper who is about to spread her wings. When the summer season ends in Bigfork, Mont., Darcy is headed for New York. She knows what she wants.
"There's definitely a fire inside me that comes out when I get to perform -- when I get to be with really talented people," she said. "It's a give-and-take of energy that you don't get in everyday life."
The fire started at age 8 when she saw her 11-year-old brother burst into a tap solo as a cast member of "Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at Spokane's Civic Theater.
"I was blown away and star-struck," she said. "I knew I wanted to do that."
Tralen then heard about a production in Coeur d'Alene that was looking for young performers, and convinced Darcy to audition.
She got a part, then was auditioning a few months later for a role in "All Aboard America" at the former Northwest Summer Playhouse.
She was on her way. Darcy was a professional player in summer theater as a third-grader.
She continued performing in community and summer theater, honing her acting and perfecting her incredibly strong but sweet soprano voice. Darcy had no formal voice or dance lessons until college. She was a copy artist with a natural gift.
"I just watched the older actors and mimicked what I liked," she said. "That's what I still do. I'm like 40 different people in one. But I'm sure there's some of me in there."
At age 12, she recorded an advertising jingle for Coeur d'Alene Realtor Marshall Mend, which concluded with a jaunty "Tell 'em Darcy sent ya." The ad played constantly, as Darcy rode with Mend in community parades.
Everyone knew about little Darcy Wright. She had become Coeur d'Alene's darling.
"I was proud of what I was doing and excited. But I didn't want to come off conceited," she said. "So I didn't talk about it with anyone. I kept to myself."
Still, petty jealousy fueled teasing at school, which only got worse as Darcy's celebrity status grew. She found solace in Lake City High School's drama department and a girls choir ensemble taught by Jim Gray.
"We became a little family," she said. "Mr. Gray had a big impact on me. He was my dad at school."
Darcy decided she also wanted to teach and motivate kids to love music. But first, she needed to find just how far her own talent could carry her.
She enrolled for two years as a music major at North Idaho College, then transferred to the University of Nevada Las Vegas as a student of theater performance.
UNLV was her first big challenge. She was on her own and was competing on an elevated level. The experience changed her.
"I learned more truths about people and about myself -- things I like about myself and things I don't. I almost reinvented myself to bring out the positive things and leave behind the others," she said. "I decided to grow up."
Meanwhile, her talent was about to be tested.
Last summer, her brother was directing the Frank Sinatra musical tribute, "My Way," in Bigfork after six seasons there as an actor. A lead player became ill and dropped out a few days before the play was due to open.
Tralen called Darcy in Las Vegas and asked if she could fill in. Her mother handed her the script at Spokane International Airport and drove her to Bigfork where she took the stage 30 hours later.
"It was amazing. It was just incredible," Tralen said.
Darcy played the part the entire season and took on a second role as well -- which she also learned in two days. She promised to return to Bigfork for a second season after she graduated this year from college.
Last month, Tralen flew to Las Vegas from New York, where he is pursuing a career as a director and choreographer. He and Darcy loaded her belongings into a car and headed north for Bigfork.
During the 18-hour drive, Tralen discovered that his starlet sister had indeed changed.
"She's just become an amazing woman -- smart and articulate. It's been fun to develop an adult relationship with her now," he said. "Coeur d'Alene remembers her as the younger Darcy. She was a kid. But she's a woman here. People see her differently because they didn't know her as a child actor."
Darcy is working round-the-clock rehearsals seven days a week in preparation for the opening of "Cats" and "42nd Street." She's nearly ready to wow another season of summer theater audiences before chasing her big dream in the Big Apple.
No doubt about it, Darcy has grown up. But she's still driven by an adolescent's energy, enthusiasm and optimism.
"I've never questioned whether I should be in theater and performing. There's not that doubt in me," she said, her brown eyes sparkling. "You hope and dream that's what you are. Otherwise, you don't have a chance.
"We'll see what happens. You never know. You just never know."
Ric Clarke can be reached at 660-8720 or by e-mail at anozira2@aol.com.
