“In hope, I live.” – Electra’s Story

Electra originally shared this story at the opening night dinner for Pericles at the Guthrie Theater.

My name is Electra Brenke. I’m a senior at Edison High School in Minneapolis and about to be in our school’s production of Our Town. I first discovered theater through Project Success back when I was 10. My older brother was in the program and our family had an opportunity to see Little House on the Prairie thanks to tickets donated by the Guthrie Theater. I also remember going to the ballet. Project Success showed me how amazing theater was and how you can relate it to your life.

Back in December I was having a really bad day and I went to my principal at Edison for some words of encouragement. I confided in her and during that same conversation she surprised me with the most incredible opportunity! She had selected me to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime chance to go to Washington D.C. with Project Success, the Guthrie staff, Louise and Millie, Wayne and Karla, to see Pericles at the Folger Theater. I was in SHOCK! It meant so much to me that she picked me to represent our school.

I was so nervous because I didn’t know any of the other girls going from different schools but they were all so kind.

From the beginning at the airport when one of the other girls, Paula, reached out to talk to me, to the great workshop on how to empower ourselves with Lisa the next morning in D.C., I learned about loving myself and making new friends through this trip.

I haven’t had an easy time growing up. Project Success has helped me to get out of my shell. I was very shy in middle school. They’ve helped me to embrace new opportunities and helped me grow as a person. Our trip to Washington D.C. was really powerful for me. It gave me more confidence in myself.

Seeing Pericles helped remind me of the power of theater and how important it is to think of the personal stories behind each character. It reminds us not to be so quick to judge others.

The costumes and details of this show were very clever too. In particular, the poem stamped on Anticlea’s daughter’s back about the incestuous relationship reminded me of how in some countries today girls are stamped with a mark for sex trafficking.

But the part of the play that resonated with me most was the line, “In hope, I live.” That line was written on a piece of fabric and tied to a withered branch and handed to Thaisa. It resonated for me most because in my past experiences, HOPE was the one thing that got me through the dark times. Project Success has been a ray of hope for me through theater.

I’ve always loved theater, fashion, and design. I now have so much hope for my own future. I want to go to college for fashion design, to design costumes in theater and the movies. When I’m in a production I have to take on that character, think about where they came from, be open-minded to that character’s experience. Because of this, I have a goal to see other countries and learn about other cultures and other people’s experiences. And I want to give back to my community, especially homeless youth in the LBGTQ world who tend to get kicked out of their homes.

It feels like Project Success has always been a part of my life and they are always there for others.
I have no idea where I’d be without Project Success.

Thank you to all the nice people at Project Success, the Guthrie Theater and Wayne Zink for opening so many doors for me and helping me to believe in myself.

Read more about our trip to Washington, D.C. in Project Success, Pericles and the Power of Theater.

Pericles Opening Night photos are courtesy of Dan Norman and the Guthrie Theater.