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Dressed in the vibrant colours of the Jackson High cheer squad, Sabrina Wong took her final bow as La Cienega in Bring It On: The Musical.
This performance not only marked the completion of her honours degree at Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore but also represented a milestone in her journey as a musical theatre artist, who was born with severe hearing loss.
“It was such a memorable performance. Not only was Bring It On my graduation show, we also did cheerleading for the first time. It was a little chaotic, but it was really fun,” the 21-year-old said.
Overcoming sound barriers
Born and raised in Shanghai, Wong started wearing hearing aids once a week when she was a few months old. But she stopped wearing them in kindergarten.
“In hindsight, I should have been made to do so right at the start,” she said. She added that not wearing hearing aids slowed her brain’s ability to process speech and sounds.
She did not want to wear the devices because of how uncomfortable they were. The older models were bulky and emitted a harsh static sound.
Wong added: “I became quite shy and introverted, and I fell behind in school because I couldn’t hear the teacher’s instructions. Most of the time, I just lived in my own world.”
But avoiding these devices affected her development; she still struggles to complete tasks at the same pace as her peers.
In primary school, she transitioned to smaller, more comfortable hearing aids, which she still wears today. Wong said that she was inspired by singers she saw on television and expressed that performing gave her a thrilling sense of empowerment.
The aspiring Broadway performer graduated with honours in musical theatre in August.
“I appreciate how the college gave everyone the same treatment because apparently for some programmes, if they find out that you have a disability, they might cut you from certain shows,” she said.
Wong believes that instead of having selective cutoffs for disabled and non-disabled applicants, theatre groups should give every child the opportunity to step into the spotlight.
Boldly chasing creative dreams
Wong urged teenagers not to let fear stop them from pursuing their creative goals.
“It might take a lot of work in between, but go for it. You don’t want to be in a situation where you hate your life, so if you are able to do what you love, that’s absolutely the best,” she said.
She offered encouragement to students who worry that the performing arts take up too much study time.
“Doing musical theatre can actually help your grades,” she said.
Her heavy workload forced her to stay focused and stop procrastinating because she did not want to fall behind.
The artist is now preparing for graduate school – deciding between acting programmes in the United States and musical theatre in the United Kingdom.
As she looks towards her next chapter, Wong has an idea of how she would like her story to one day be shown on stage: a comedy-drama.
“After all, life is really not that serious. I’d want it to be fun and enjoyable,” she said.
