The audience hushed and the last bits of conversations shushed as a voice announced the start of the show, but the lights did not turn off. They did not turn off until sophomore Emily Chang darted down the aisle and scampered up the stairs onto the stage. After looking left then right, she stepped up to the microphone and announced, “Lights off, please.” The lights turned off, and the play “Domesticated” began.

Chang has been in two professional shows, including the musical “Seussical” with the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. This past February, Chang acted in “Domesticated,” presented by the Steppenwolf Theatre, a Tony Award-winning Chicago theater.

Chang’s mother Jeannie Chang said her daughter was shy in kindergarten, so she got her involved in theater to be more active.

“We never thought it would be like this,” Jeannie Chang said.

According to Emily Chang, when she received the call for “Seussical,” her mom picked up the phone and went into another room, leaving her to wonder if it was good or bad news, only able to hear snippets of the conversation.

“[‘Seussical’] encompassed everything she loved doing and it was amazing to realize, ‘Hey that’s our kid on stage,’” Jeannie Chang said.

Emily Chang said she does not have an agent to pick out auditions for her, but her director at the Actors Training Center recommends shows for her.

“I’m also focusing on school, and I like doing the shows [at GBN], too,” said Emily Chang. “I’m not ready to commit outside of school full-time professionally. Just popping into auditions when I can is working for me right now.”

Theater teacher Julie Ann Robinson, who has known Emily Chang for two years and watched “Domesticated,” said Emily was “hanging in there with the big dogs.”

According to Robinson, it is rare for a young student to perform professionally, but Emily Chang has excellent stage presence, is able to be facially expressive and does not shy away from the audience.

In the last scene of “Domesticated,” Emily Chang faces the audience and says “Lights off, please.” The lights turn off, the play ends and the audience cheers.