Theater student Danielle Rosario lets nothing stand in her of way of succeeding as an actress
Fourth-year theater student Danielle Rosario played Diana Morales in the UCLA film school’s production of “A Chorus Line” this quarter.
This article is part of the Daily Bruin's Graduation Issue 2012 coverage. To view more multimedia, galleries, and columns, visit http://dailybruin.com/gradissue2012
By Andrea Seikaly
June 9, 2012 10:43 p.m.
As a young girl, fourth-year theater student Danielle Rosario suffered from a common adolescent knee condition but she refused to let it keep her from dancing. This determination and tenacity has fueled her passion for the arts during her time at UCLA.
“When I was in seventh grade I had Osgood-Schlatters and the doctors said, “˜You should probably stop dancing, that’s the only way it is going to get better.'” Obviously that was not really a choice for me,” Rosario said.
Rosario, whose concentration is in musical theater, just wrapped up her final theater performance at UCLA in the role of Diana Morales in “A Chorus Line.”
This show was the first musical theater production that Rosario participated in at UCLA and she said it really helped her grow as a multi-talented actress.
While she has made the decision to pursue a career in acting, Rosario got her start as a dancer.
Rosario said she started taking dance classes when she was 3 years old and then got her first big theater role during the summer after her junior year of high school.
“I got cast in “˜Grease’ at a big outdoor theater in St. Louis, Missouri, where I’m from,” Rosario said. “That was kind of my realization when I thought I could do this for a living and I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”
Though her performance in “A Chorus Line” marks the culmination of Rosario’s UCLA career, those who have gotten to know her over the past four years said they have no doubt that she has the potential to succeed as an actress, dancer and singer.
Professor Nicholas Gunn, an adjunct professor in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television who taught her as a freshman and then again in her junior and senior dance classes, said Rosario is very self-motivated and lighthearted, which he considers to be important qualities in the industry.
Professor Scott Conte, a visiting assistant professor in the School of Theater, Film & Television, taught Rosario last year over the course of a yearlong series of acting classes. He said that he enjoyed working with a dedicated and hardworking student like Rosario.
“I encourage the students to inhabit the characters that they play. My class was completely new for her and she really worked hard and grew a lot,” Conte said.
