Austin’s ZACH Theatre has long been known for its talented teams of creative individuals from over the years. From gripping productions like Tribes and Notes From the Field to mesmerizing fairytales like Disney’s Beauty and The Beast and even lighthearted fare like Tortoise and Hare, audiences have seen immense talent grace the stage, and their production of Matilda the Musical is no different.

We were lucky enough to ask some of the production’s rising stars a few questions to get to know the kids behind Matilda the Musical, including Sloane Johnson who plays Lavender. She’s also taken on roles with ZACH’s productions of A Christmas Carol as Belinda Cratchit in 2017 and Fan in 2018. She’s a member of ZACH’s Pre-Professional Company and takes vocal instruction from Paul Sanchez.

20 Questions with Sloane Johnson

1. How old are you? 12 years old

2. What's your favorite food? Chicken Caesar Salad, Penne Pasta and Apples

3. What makes you smile? Seeing my friends

4. Who inspires you? I find inspiration in everyone around me. I am always watching and learning.

5. What is your favorite animal? Dogs, especially my Goldendoodle Trixie Belle.

6. What's your Superhero name and what powers do you have? The Sloane Ranger! My power would be invisibility.

7. How do you best help others? Being a good listener.

8. What are you most thankful for? My parents giving me the opportunity to study and perform at ZACH Theatre and the ZACH Academic Performing Arts Academy.

9. What's your favorite place in Austin? ZACH Theatre

10. What's your favorite thing to do with your parents? Traveling

11. What's it like performing in front of other kids? It is fun! The younger audience like to interact more with us than adults sometimes. We get energy from the audience.

12. What makes you feel confident on stage? Having lots of rehearsals so we are well prepared.

13. How do you prepare for showtime? For Matilda The Musical, we stretch as a cast, I practice my back flips and then I run my monologue with Chloe (Matilda).

14. Who is your favorite cast member? I think of all the cast members as my family, but I hang out a lot with Chloe and the other youth cast members.

15. What character makes you laugh the most? Miss Trunchbull. It is hard not to laugh on stage.

16. What made you want to get into acting? I started doing musical theater summer camps when I was very young and have loved it ever since.

17. How has ZACH Theatre helped you develop as an actor? The staff at ZACH is really talented and their training has helped me raise my game in singing, dancing and acting. They treat us like professionals.

18. What's your favorite thing about acting? Getting to portray characters very different from myself.

19. Do you ever get nervous on stage? Yes, all the time but once the show starts, the nervousness goes away and I am just ready to perform.

20. What's one role you'd love to play someday? I can’t pick one. Miss Honey in Matilda The Musical, Eliza in Hamilton or Regina George in Mean Girls.

Tickets for ZACH Theater’s Matilda the Musical, are currently on sale, and the show will run in The Topfer at ZACH until May 12, 2019. Feature photo by Kirk Tuck.