Two Local Students Share Their Love of Music and the Stage

As an antidote to a bit of the uncertainty in the world, some youth have sought refuge in the arts. Whether trying to make sense of the senseless through music, offering souls a couple hours of escapism and encouraging curiosity through theatrical productions, young artists like singer/songwriter Mira Babal of Minnetonka and actor Anja Arora of Plymouth are playing to their creative strengths to make beautiful things to be shared and celebrated.

TheMusician

“I’ve always had an interest in music,” Mira says. “You couldn’t keep me away from it.” The articulate 11 year old, who recently wrapped up fifth grade at Groveland Elementary, was just 3 years old when she started playing piano. Not long after that, she picked up drums. Mira has since added the bass, guitar, recorder, ukelele and violin to her arsenal of instruments.

Last year, Mira wrote, produced and published her first song Mad for No Reason, a catchy pop-rock single with a driving beat. She says the song was inspired by several incidents she witnessed post COVID-19, including watching an ensuing exchange after a driver took another driver’s parking spot. “It was just a small thing,” Mira says, but it left a big impression on her.

The quick-to-anger moment and others like it stuck with Mira, and she soon came up with a song verse that captured her feelings: “Why do you get this way, every time, every day? Always mad for no reason. I’m just trying to live in the moment. I don’t know what to do when it always gets to you. Always mad for no reason. I’m just trying to live my life.”

Mira released the song to streaming platforms late last year and filmed its music video, in which she can be seen singing and playing the bass, drums and keyboard. While completing this project, she continued to write music, including her second single Infinity. The piece is a mellow, ethereal ballad that reflects the “flow of nature and how we should incorporate that in our lives,” Mira says. She released the song in March and filmed its music video that same month.

A self-proclaimed perfectionist, Mira regularly gets up at 5 am to work on her music. “My favorite is writing songs,” she says. With several hours of instrument practice each day and music coaching three to four days a week, Mira devotes a good chunk of her time to her craft, but she’s quick to point out that it’s not all about music for her. “I love coding,” she says. “I love sports like tennis and basketball. I love being active.”

Mira isn’t sure if she’ll pursue a career in music but says, “It’s definitely something I’m interested in. It will be a hobby at least.” For now, she enjoys the fruits of her labor, from the pure joy she gets playing her compositions to having her friends request her songs in class. “It’s pretty cool to have them request a bunch of Taylor Swift and then me,” she says.

Instagram: @mirababal
YouTube: Mira Babal

The Actor

“Ever since I was really little, I’ve always had this love for performing and for the arts,” Anja says. The 15-year-old Minnetonka High School student most recently took on her first lead role, playing Alice in the Children’s Theatre Company production of Alice in Wonderland.

“I always knew that I wanted to do some form of (acting). I didn’t know whether or not that meant doing professional theater, but I always knew that one way or another, I was going to dip my toe into it because I just loved it,” she says.

Alice in Wonderland is Anja’s fifth production with the Children’s Theatre Company. Her first was Annie, who hit the stage in 2021 after the pandemic pushed back the production schedule. “I was one of the orphan girls,” Anja says. “And it was super fun because, actually, (Audrey Mojica) that I am doubling the role of Alice with, she played Annie in that, so I already knew her.”

Memorizing lines can be a tall order, especially for a role that spends nearly the entire show on stage, but Anja attributes her success, in part, to her mother, Joan Morse, who runs lines with her. It also doesn’t hurt to have a friend sharing the role. “(Audrey and I) really support each other in those kinds of intense rehearsal processes,” Anja says, noting the rehearsal schedule for Alice in Wonderland started at five hours a day, four days a week and all-day rehearsals on Saturdays.

The hard work was worth it for the opportunity to bring the audience on Alice’s journey. “I think she really represents the true nature of human curiosity and the human spirit,” Anja says. “I think it’s so important for young people to try to understand things and to be curious and to explore … you’re only in this world to enjoy it and to ask questions.”

Children’s Theatre Company
2400 Third Ave. S., Mpls.; 612.874.0400
Facebook: Children’s Theatre Company
Instagram: @childrenstheatrecompany