For Marqueta Floyd, the art of acting didn’t begin with acting classes or taking theater classes, it all started with Barbie dolls.

Floyd said she would create elaborate plots and re-enact scenes from her favorite movies with the dolls.

“When I was growing up, I was an only child,” Floyd, theatre major, said. “I played a lot by myself, so I would create these scenes. I began to love the feeling that came with stepping out of my world and into another.”

Performing in many principal roles, including Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” along with directing a Student One-Act play in October, Floyd recently was selected to participate in an October master class—an acting class for selected students—with Broadway professional, Susan Egan, the original star of “Beauty and the Beast” on Broadway.

“It was super new for me to be working with Susan Egan because I’ve only been coached by Ron Scarlata (arts professor and the theater department’s faculty adviser),” Floyd said. “It was scary, but absolutely wonderful.

Starting out as a journalism major, Floyd took a theater class when she first enrolled in EC. After taking that class with Scarlata, Floyd said she immediately knew what she wanted to pursue in college—theater.

But her dream was hard to achieve in the beginning, Floyd said.

“I tried auditioning once my freshmen year of high school and I tanked so bad that I never auditioned again,” she said. “Yet the desire to perform never left me. I started taking classes with Scarlata and nothing drew my attention and nothing kept my focus like the scene work and reading I did for his classes.”

Scarlata said Floyd is a rising star in the theater department and on top of that an excellent student.

Like most classes, she said that theater presents its challenges, but she welcomes those challenges with open arms.

“I am most driven and most ambitious when it comes to acting because there’s so much satisfaction that comes with performing and then having that performance be well received,” Floyd said.

For her, acting is a big part of her life, she said.

“Acting is the love of my life,” Floyd said. “Nothing gives me the rush, satisfaction or happiness that acting gives me.”

She said that over the years, acting has become easier but she still sometimes finds herself in challenging situations.

“The hardest part of acting is finding the reality in the role you’re playing because you always want to be genuine,” Floyd said.

Floyd said she plans to transfer to the University of Southern California.

“It is really time for me to leave the nest and spread my wings,” she said. “I would love to do shows at other theaters and gain experience that comes with working in different venues.”