Anjali Bose ‘20
Cerena Robertson ‘19 is September’s Artist of the Month for her exemplary skills in both performing and visual arts. “I was really interested in theater before I came to EA,” Robertson explained, “but at my old school I didn’t really have the opportunity to perform in theater, but when I came to EA I started.”
Her first role was as a freshman as one of the Dynamites in Hairspray. “I actually decided to audition for Hairspray after some diversity people and Mr. Clay asked me if I wanted to play a black teen in it. For those roles you sort of have to play a certain race related role, because you’re dealing with things like racism and segregation.” She continued. “I was really nervous for the audition because I’d never actually auditioned for anything ever before.” After her first theater performance ever, Robertson continued to participate in theater, performing in Chicago, Inherit the Wind, and Grease.
“What happened with Chicago is that it was pretty difficult for me to learn the certain way of dancing and to catch up to that kind of style. I ended up getting the role of a court clerk. But, that role kind of helped me to realize that you won’t always get what you want, because I was aiming for the role of Mama.” Robertson stated. “I was definitely disappointed in the beginning but I think I more importantly learned that even if you have a so called ‘small role’ you still play a huge part in whatever you’re doing. That definitely helped me learn that.”
“The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Cerena is how much she’s grown,” said Daniel Clay, theater department chair and teacher. “Her first role was during Hairspray and she was kind of all over the place. It was hard for her to connect with what she was singing, acting wise. And she did really great in Hairspray, but after that she just continued to grow as an actor. Then finally she won her cappie for Inherit the Wind.”
In last year’s fall play, Inherit the Wind, she took on the part of Reverend James Brown. “It was challenging for me, definitely one of the most difficult roles I’ve had to play, because I was playing the role of a father, and because I was playing someone who was the complete opposite of me.” Robertson explained. “He was a straight, white, male character, in how he’s originally written, and I got to play around with that role and really see what I could do playing this person I wasn’t really personally connected to.”
After her role in Inherit the Wind, Robertson played Jan in the musical Grease, where she got to exemplify her amazing singing talents. Clay notes, “She’s just so good. In terms of her voice she’s one of the best singers in the school. She’s also become this phenomenal actor. She’s sort of a mystery to me because she really has a instinct for these things in the arts. I’m just amazed by the work she does as a visual artist and how well she can cross into other artistic disciplines as well. It’s really impressive.
“She’s not one of those people who has her mind on being the star. She doesn’t have that attitude that she’s special or better than anyone else. She just loves doing it. The love of doing it shows in her work. She’s easy to work with, she’s really funny. It’s a delight to work with Cerena.” Robertson can be seen next playing Hermia in the fall production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Students who work with Robertson have high praise for her talent and dedication. “I love working with Cerena,” Sarah Letts ‘20 said. “She knows how to put on a professional show and how to delve into her character really well. She’s just so great and talented and so much fun to work with.” Similarly, Tina Ying ‘20 said, “Cerena’s one of the most talented people I know. She’s so multi-talented: she can sing, she can dance, she can act, she can draw. She’s so incredibly good at everything and she’s such a hard worker and a great role model.” “Cerena is like one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. Yet despite her skills she still maintains her personality with, like, this humble persona and doesn’t let it go to her head, and she’s just one of the most positive and uplifting people I know.” stated Lauren Bassett ‘20.
Robertson especially loves musical theater and said, “I really like musical theater because I love singing, and just in general I love to act. This might sound weird, but I love getting to play someone else and becoming a character. I do have anxiety and I used to have stage fright, but now that I feel like I know what I’m doing it doesn’t really show up when I’m acting or performing in front of people, it’s kind of ironic. Honestly, I feel really free when I’m in theater mode, and it just feels so good to watch everything just come together. Art just helps me to feel so calm. It’s really nice to have that place.”
Not only is Robertson gifted in the performing arts, but she also posts original artwork on her Instagram art account @ohsocerena, which has over 70,000 followers.
“I started my Instagram just as a personal page probably around fifth or sixth grade, just for funny posts and selfies and things like that. During freshman year though I decided to make it an art blog.” Robertson said. “I started to post my art, when I’d make new pieces I post it every time and people were really interested in that. I gained a nice amount of followers from people shouting me out and reposting my artwork.” Soon she began posting time lapse videos of herself creating her artwork online, earning an even larger following.
“Once I got this big following, I started developing a style with my art so people could just look at it and know that it was me and that I drew that. One post that got really popular was this post that was of this progress that I had made with my style and materials. It had a drawing that I’d made as a seventh grader and then a drawing I made as a sophomore. Over like 500,000 people viewed it, it really took off,” she explained.
Through her art, Robertson likes to encourage and represent minority demographics. “I always like to encourage people to keep doing what they’re doing, especially when they’re like, ‘You inspire me,’ which is always really shocking because I’m still a student and the thought of that is just kind of crazy. Like the art world is mostly dominated by white males, and that can sometimes discourage a lot of people, like I know from personal experience.” She explained, “The encouragement I received helped me to succeed, and I’d love to inspire other people in the same way.”