Teens of Bay Area

It’s a given that theater kids know how to act, but only a few can say that they can make the costumes too. Serene Khan, a junior at Mountain View High School, has been a part of her school’s theater program since her freshman year — under the spotlight as well as making costumes behind the scenes for competitions. 

Serene made her acting debut at a Peninsula Youth Theatre summer camp in middle school where she got the opportunity to perform in “The Wizard of Oz.” 

“The summer camp allowed me to learn about what theater was, and I realized that I loved the community,” Serene said. 

Though the camp was the experience that inspired her interests in theatre, Serene did not officially commit to pursuing it seriously until she went to see a production at Mountain View with her brother. 

So… when Serene finally entered high school, she naturally jumped at the opportunity to audition for the fall play, “Delay,” a play about a mysterious flight delay. 

“I was the new kid, and I didn’t know how to read sheet music,” Serene said. “I’ve also never taken a dance class before, and so it was really scary.”

Though she struggled with her first show, she persevered and took every opportunity to learn. 

“I really tried to show up as much as I could,” Serene said. “Even if I wasn’t called, I would sit in and watch other people perform.” 

Following Serene’s first play at Mountain View, she joined the Drama Llamas, a club on campus that puts on a student-run musical annually. Serene’s first role was a puritan in “Something Rotten,” a musical that follows two brothers who are desperate to become successful playwrights.

“It was so fun,” Serene said. “It just solidified my desire to do any and all the shows.”

As Serene entered her sophomore year, she enrolled in the introductory acting class at Mountain View to hone her skills. But when an opportunity rolled around for students to attend a local theater festival, Serene was not initially barred from competing because the opportunity was usually reserved for the advanced classes. However, wanting to become a part of the festival, she convinced her teacher to let her compete in another category: costume making. Serene had no prior experience in costume making, so it was challenging for her to begin competing, and she had to go through trial and error. 

“The process of making costumes also taught me that sometimes things just don’t work out, and that’s also fine,” Serene said. 

Despite Serene’s initial setbacks, she won an award at the theater festival with an impromptu wrap dress she made. 

“The day when I had to go present my costume, I had to put it all together before the judges came,” said Serene. “It was literally just a sheet of fabric, and I had to wrap it there and make it look good.” 

Serene has stuck to the acting program since her freshman year, and now she is rehearsing for the upcoming school play, “Shakespeare in Love.” She is looking forward to continuing to perform and compete at theater festivals this year. 

“It doesn’t hurt to try and go out of your comfort zone,” Serene said. “I didn’t know how to act, but I still tried out for the play. There is truly so much you can learn from doing theater or from watching others — you just have to try.”