Lights. Camera. Taylor. Freshman Taylor Ramsey started singing at the ripe age of two and has been in the spotlight ever since. Whether it was her school or her church, Ramsey has more than proven her talent for singing and acting. Her first time singing in front of a group of people was when she was seven and had a solo in her choir that her mom lead.

“It felt like it was something I’m supposed to do, like it was my calling,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey played Motormouth Maybelle in this year’s Sion musical, “Hairspray.” Her role included endless amounts of dancing and acting, but the most memorable part of her role was her singing. After some of her solo songs, she was completely surprised by the multiple standing ovations.

“I had no idea people would like my singing as much as they did,” Ramsey said.

One of Ramsey’s fellow actors, senior Ralvell Rogers from Rockhurst High School was impressed with Ramsey’s singing. According to Rogers, when he heard her sing her solo, it was amazing.

“I thought that she sounded better than Queen Latifah in the movie version of Hairspray,” Rogers said.

He also said that Ramsey acted sort of as the “mom” on and off the stage by making sure people were ready to go while he and some other actors were bickering backstage.

Since Rogers played her son “Seaweed” in the musical, he agreed that was a good personality for her. He was also surprised by the endless standing ovations that Ramsey received. But he had a feeling that her solos would be the best in the musical because she did them so well when they were rehearsing at Avila the week of the musical.

Another huge supporter of Ramsey’s talent is music teacher Elizabeth Mulkey. She claimed that she immediately knew that Ramsey would be a huge hit and bring talent to the production.

“I was trying to hold in a smile because it was an audition and you’re not supposed to show that amount of emotion in front of everyone, so that was hard. But I was completely thrilled,” Mulkey said.

She said that one of the most satisfying parts of working with Ramsey was when she finally become comfortable in her part as Motormouth Maybelle. According to Mulkey, Ramsey is not the type of person to be doing the “suggestive” dance movements that her part was supposed to do in the play, but after a lot of hard work, she did it with great confidence at the show.