Down to earth, humble, determined, professional and pleasant. That’s how her family, friends and even professors have described Stephanie Zito, senior theater arts major.

Recent winner of the 2009 Classical Acting Award from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in Fullerton, Zito began acting her junior year at El Dorado High School in Vacaville.

The winner of this prestigious award receives a $2,500 fellowship to a major professional acting training program. According to the Kennedy Center’s official website, the goal of the fellowship is to craft the finest man or woman in classical acting.

Gregg Henry, artistic director of the festival, said that the scholarship goes to someone with outstanding performance in a modern or Shakespearean play.

“Trying to humanize text that is almost 400 years old is extremely difficult,” Henry said. “I look for someone who is very alive and someone who brings a lot of light to the verse.”

He said winning this award should be encouragement to keep up the good work, as cliché as it sounds.

Growing up playing soccer and volleyball, Zito said she didn’t always dream of becoming an actress.

“I just assumed I’d end up being a veterinarian and then the next day I’d want to be a lawyer,” she said.

Zito admits to disliking high school until she started doing theater her junior year.

“I wasn’t popular so I enjoyed hanging out with theater people and the band geeks,” she said.

One of her teachers encouraged Zito to attend the Oregon Shakespeare Festival summer seminar after her junior year.

The festival is a two-week seminar for aspiring actors where they participate in a wide range of activities designed to introduce them to the aspects of professional theatre, according to the festival’s website.

The head of the theater arts department at the time, Robert Pomo, was the deciding factor for Zito to attend Sacramento State.

“Theater can sprout arrogant and cocky people. That wasn’t what I wanted. But the teachers and Robert Pomo were really welcoming to me,” she said. “I think bigger programs are so focused on theater and can judge each other and be harsh with each other, and I wanted something more humble and real.”

Zito realized that in an unstable career like theater, it didn’t matter if income was steady; as long as she was doing what she loved, she would be happy.

Deciding she wanted to act for the rest of her life was not an easy thing to reveal to her parents.

“They asked if I loved doing it and I said yes so they supported me 100 percent, but I was actually really scared to tell my parents I wanted to do theater as my profession,” she said.

But not everyone in Zito’s life gave her as much support as her parents did.

Last semester, the director of a play called “Picnic” told Zito that she was unfit for the part and that trying out would be a waste of her time.

“So I went home, changed my hair, learned the script all summer, came back and tried so hard to prove her wrong,” Zito said. “I turned out getting the part.”

Michelle Felten, assistant professor of acting and voice as well as the director of “Picnic,” said she saw a different character for Zito.

“I felt she could be in between two different characters and that she kind of fell between the cracks,” Felten said.

Zito proved the director wrong. Her perseverance paid off and Felten certainly was impressed.

“I have to hand it to Stephanie. I think I told her if you could prove me wrong more power to you,” Felten said. “She read the play many times, and was fully aware of the character.”

When Zito performs, her parents have a hard time understanding where she gets her acting skills.

“It’s a weird thing for my husband and I when we watch her in plays and have to remind ourselves that’s our Stephanie,” her mother said. “It’s like she transforms into someone else.”

Zito’s mother, Susan Zito, has dedicated many hours to the success of her daughter and some of the other students as well.

“I helped in the costume shop with making the dresses. I feel like I know some of the kids that are about to graduate,” Susan said.

It is clear to her parnter, Dexter Galang, that during her performances Zito fully transforms into her character. Galang, senior theater arts major, recalls a memory of her in their recent competition together.

“She gives me so much to work with, so much sub-text, you come to life more because she is so alive and present in the moment,” Galang said. “I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

Dan Demers, close friend and senior theater arts major, can see bright things in Zito’s future after she graduates in May.

“I know more than anything she wants to be successful and she has the drive and talent to do so,” he said. “Our career is not stable in any way so she has to prepare for that.”

Zito said that in her immediate future she is really looking forward to Graduate school, with hopes of one day making it big.

“I am horrified about going out into the real world right now so I really want to go to graduate school and get my bachelor’s degree in fine arts,” she said. “It shows I’ve been really well trained.”

Amber Wertman can be reached at [email protected]