Macy Bonnett, a junior at Xavier and the lead in the school’s upcoming performance of “Mary Poppins,” has been performing for as long as she can remember.

“It really started when she was about seven-years-old, when we got her a vocal coach,” said Macy’s mother, Shawna Bonnett. However, she says that her daughter’s love for theatrics began much earlier than that.

Shawna Bonnett shared that when Macy and her younger sister, Presley, were growing up, rather than a bed time the family would do story time. Through this nightly routine, Macy Bonnett developed her love for storytelling which she now embraces with her work in the theater world.

It was at this time growing up that Macy Bonnett also developed her love for music. “I would sing to them [Macy and her sister] every night. I could hum a couple notes and say ‘what song?’ and she would always know it,” said Shawna Bonnett.

“My first show was ‘Beauty and the Beast’ when I was seven. I was the salt shaker,” Macy Bonnett said. This was a particularly special role for her because in 2023 she performed “Beauty and the Beast” again, only this time she was Belle.

Since this first show, Macy Bonnett has performed in a number of plays and musicals including “Annie,” “Big Fish,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” and is currently involved in the production of “Mary Poppins.”

Although more recently she has only been focused on Xavier theater, she typically bounces between theaters all around the valley.

Throughout her life, Macy Bonnett always came back to doing theater. One reason why is the lack of judgment in the space, because everyone has the same interests.

“I’m a very musical person. I feel like bursting into song everywhere, all the time, and when I’m on stage I can,” said Macy Bonnett.

Even when she’s not on stage, she is singing. Some of her best friends, Annie Kilzer and Sophia Herget verified this statement.

“She’s always singing, and she always knows every song,” Herget said. Kilzer agreed with that statement and added, “She’s always energetic and excited.”

Singing has always been a major part of Macy Bonnett’s life. “It has always been something I could fall back on, not dance, not acting, always singing,” she said.

Shawna Bonnett recalled a story from when her daughter was very young and decided that she wanted to perform her own birthday song. “She sang the whole song as loud as she could.”

It is moments like these that shaped her love for performing and that eventually brought her to where she is today, a dedicated thespian.

This story was originally published on XPress on February 29, 2024.