A self-proclaimed amateur, Ehrik Aldana wasn’t trying to prove anything when he took two of the state’s most prestigious youth monologue competitions this spring.
With only two school years of theater under his belt, the Yale-bound Skyline High School senior was invited to two competitions in New York, the August Wilson Monologue and the National Shakespeare competitions.
While Aldana has even surprised Jim Henderson, head of fine arts at Skyline, he is too accomplished to ever seek a career in theater, Henderson said. “I would say the world is his oyster, he’s got a great mind, and a level head to sort it all out.”
Aldana’s interest in the fine arts began as a dull curiosity, he said.
An accomplished musician, he decided to learn a new art form and applied for an honors-level drama class.
“I didn’t think that theatre would be such a big component in my life,” he said.
He auditioned for Skyline’s spots in the English Speaking Union’s Shakespeare competition, and won it his junior and senior years. In his first year competing, he fell just shy of the national competition.
This spring he picked a less known Shakespearean piece from The Tempest. It was a comedic monologue from the character Trinculo. With it he won the state competition and went on to be a finalist at the national event at Lincoln Center, New York.
Aldana’s acting style is naturalistic, but it’s also smart, which makes a big difference, Henderson said. “Acting I think is very cerebral in a lot of ways.”
Aldana entered the August Wilson competition on his own accord. He was giving his time to help write blog posts for the Seattle Children’s Theatre, when he heard Seattle was invited to the competition for the first time this year.
The Seattle Repertory Theatre played a major role in the playwright’s career. Wilson also was once a resident.
Aldana won the local competition, and a few weeks after his trip to New York for Shakespeare, he was back again.
His second trip came with a backstage tour of Broadway, where he met one of the actors, Daniel Radcliffe, famous for his role in the Harry Potter films.
“It was a really surreal experience, being thrown into that world,” he said.
While Aldana doesn’t expect to pursue Broadway-style productions someday, he enjoyed spending time with many of the competitors who did, he said. “Seeing young people so excited and so enthused about art, really was encouraging.”
Students as gifted as Aldana are rare, but what’s surprising is his humility, Henderson said. “He has absolutely no attitude. He just does what you ask him to do.”
