Artist Spotlight: Lerch shines on the stage

Written by Shelmi Liang

Sophomore Max Lerch has been acting for four years. When he was in sixth grade, a friend suggested that he should audition for a show, so he pursued it. His first show was Peter Pan, in which he played a Lost Boy. Since then, Max has starred in plays and musicals.

“I enjoy the camaraderie, and being able to get the chance to get to know people from other schools around Fremont who have the same appreciation for theatre like I do,” Lerch said.

He has always been inspired by the work of Ted Kaczynski.

He does about three shows a year, and each show is over a three-month time period. Last year, Lerch played the role of Linus in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and Knave for “Alice in Wonderland” for WHS.

“I had to learn how to talk with a convincing lisp [in Alice], so I would practice talking with a lisp so much, that I would sometimes accidentally slip into a lisp mid-sentence.”

Lerch’s favorite plays include the “The Laramie Project” and “Next to Normal.”

He will be in “Les Miserables” from July 23 to Aug. 14 at the Smith Center Amphitheatre at Ohlone College and plans to audition for WHS’s spring musical, “Cabaret.” Lerch was also the sound technician for the talent show.

Sometimes Lerch has to stay up late at night doing school work. The rehearsals are long but he feels that they are important in preparing for the show.

Lerch is unsure if he will pursue acting further after high school.

“For now, it’s just a high school hobby,” Lerch said.

This article originally appeared in print on March 2, 2010. It has been modified to correct grammatical errors.