By Ally Bilderback
Sally Brown, the oh so adorable and slightly mischievous younger sister of Charlie Brown. She is also the youngest member of the Peanuts gang which automatically gives her motivation to be superfluous in her own endearing way. One of the things that makes Sally who she is as a character is her over dramatization of anything and everything. Whether it’s dropping an ice cream cone or getting a poor grade, you can always count on Sally to overreact. She may only be 6 years old, but she has her opinions and strong ones at that! Being the youngest, Sally might feel the need to stand out. While her personality does most of that for her, she puts in the extra oomph to get her very decided opinions and ideas into the big kid crowd. To the rest of the Peanuts, Sally can occasionally be a real piece of work or the cause of an “I can’t stand it!” but she also helps contrast her pessimistic older brother and brings a certain kind of energy to every scene she’s in. Now, all that being said, how does a 17 year old living in the 21st century relate to and portray a 6 year old cartoon character made in the 60’s? Read on and you’ll find out a few tidbits on just how I adopted Sally’s strikingly energetic personality and wide range of emotions.
Sally Brown is an iconic character, and I am thrilled to be playing her. Every actor has a way of slipping into and finding his or her character, even actors who’ve only been in 1 other show (aka, me). Finding Sally has had its difficult moments, but there were a surprising amount of things that came naturally: her positive outlook, vexation at the little things, often being seen as “too much”, and her over exaggerated… well, everything. These were all parts of Sally that I picked up instantly. That being said, I’ve started questioning my maturity a little.
There were definitely some things that took awhile to get used to though. Putting myself into the mindset of vying for attention when I might want the complete opposite, throwing that tantrum, or voicing that opinion and taking that risk in the name of the present moment were things that I really had to delve into and work hard at. I got there eventually with the help of my little nieces, nephews, and siblings for authentic inspiration.
Ultimately, I think Miss Sally B and 6 year old Miss Ally B would’ve been good friends. I’m the 7th child out of 9, so I can sympathize with Sally’s need to be extravagant, quirky, and sometimes a little dramatic. You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown gives a new perspective on all the Peanuts but especially on Sally who tends to get a little lost amongst her elders. Her solo piece, My New Philosophy, is energetic and enthusiastically jumps from idea to idea, which just about sums up Sally Brown. Even though she is exhausting to play, it is truly an honor to think that my portrayal of Sally may be the younger generation’s first time seeing her or the older generation’s first time seeing her come to life. Hopefully, the way I interpret this character’s funny, sassy and lovable personality gets an A+ !
