It was a chilly December evening with glimmering lights and faint Christmas music.  At eight years old with her wavy blonde hair and dirty clothes, Keri Winser, 21, liberal studies major, played a rebellious girl on a small stage in her church for a Christmas play.  

It was through this role that she realized how strong her passion for theater was.

“Being on stage is invigorating,” Winser said.  “It’s an adrenaline rush.” 

 “I like theater because of the live audience,” she added. “It’s almost like a veil.  There are people watching you and you have to pretend like they’re not.  You anticipate their reactions and thrive off of it.” 

Winser will be playing Wanda, one of three leading roles in the theater department’s production of “Waiting Room,” opening May 13 at the Campus Theatre.  

 “It’s about three women who are afraid of their own bodies because of the need to be beautiful,” Winser said. 

“Wanda has these enormous breast implants that have produced breast cancer and throughout the play she shows fear and vulnerability, but also pretends to be courageous.” 

She originally auditioned for all three leading roles, but was chosen to play Wanda because of her natural ability to do a New York accent. Winser is currently in her second year at EC, and this will make her third production here.

“I was pleased to get it because I knew it was a strong role,” Winser said. “In my first production I literally had like two lines.  The second one was kind of a lead role, but I was in and out.”

Winser said she is fortunate to have support from friends and family.  

“The last time I saw her perform, she really shocked me,” Rowan Negus, 19, graphic design major, said. “Every time I see her perform something different, I see her improve.” 

Negus and Winser have been friends since elementary school.

“Acting comes naturally to her.  She has always been an animated person,” Negus said. “I think she will do a fantastic job if she decides to commit to this career.” 

More than 12 years after her first role, Winser still worries about getting all of her lines right and missing her cue on stage.  She said she has always wanted to try standup comedy and maybe be part of “Saturday Night Live” one day, she said.

 “I’m a character actor.  I really like when a person is strange,” she said. “I like humor a lot and more embodied characters.” 

If her acting plans don’t pan out, she said she wants to teach history and incorporate her theater background to make history come alive.