Meghan Bordeaux: Acrobat to Actress

EAST PEORIA — Meghan Bordeaux, 19, is a theatre major in her final year at ICC, where she has been in the program for two years.

She began her actingcareer at 14 years old and has had few times she wasn’t in a production since.

“I was a power tumbler for a long time growing up, but I always loved to sing,” Bordeaux said. “The summer after I quit tumbling, my mom suggested I audition for a play, and that’s how it all got started.” That first play was Corn Stock Theatre’s Beauty and the Beast, in which she played a gargoyle.

Bordeaux has been in several musicals since then and has recently gotten experience with plays. “Throughout high school it was only musicals, actually” she said,“Coming here and doing Rough Magic was my first experience with a straight play.”

Bordeaux joined the theatre program at ICC and has been a part of every production since, including Rashomon, Spooky Dog & the Teen-Age Gang Mysteries and Goodnight Desdemona.

When it comes to her craft, Bordeaux’s love is in its nature. “My favorite thing [about acting] is that you can get on stage and do virtually whatever you want to do because you’re not yourself in that moment; you are the character. Even stuff you wouldn’t do normally, because it’s not your personality, you can do on stage.”

“Of course, there are downsides,” she said, like “remembering lines and auditioning for shows, which can be scary. But it can be very fun.”

As many actors and actresses would, Bordeaux had difficulty when asked what her favorite musical or play is. “Some of my favorites are West Side Story, Wicked and Legally Blonde, but I couldn’t pick a favorite.”

In addition to acting, Bordeaux likes to work her part-time job at Bergners, read and spend time with her friends. She also watches a lot of movies on Netflix, which she admits is “a bad habit to get into.”

After the spring semester, Bordeaux plans on transferring to a Western school, particularly UCLA, to pursue acting. She is currently on a short break from it, but can likely be seen in the upcoming spring musical working.

“When I was young I used to watch a lot of movie musicals and always wanted to be those people,” Bordeaux said, “I’d like to be able to give that dream to other people.”

Bordeaux’s advice to actors and actresses is simply to “never quit it, to stick with it.” As her commitment at ICC and acting dreams beyond show, Bordeaux is an actress who truly practices what she preaches.