New Stage, New Star: 16-Year-Old Nantucketer Danielle Lewis Stars In NPAC's First Production

The Nantucket Performing Arts Center’s first production, Hedi Schreck’s “What the Constitution Means to Me,” opened Thursday night — and one of the stars is a 16-year-old lifelong Nantucketer.

Danielle Lewis, the founder and captain of Nantucket High School’s competitive debate team, has been acting since she was in seventh grade. However, she has never done it professionally before.

“It's been really, really cool,” she said. “I've gotten my own dressing room, my own space, I've gotten a lot of support and a lot of counseling.”

Lewis is acting alongside veteran actors Nina Hellman, who has starred in several theatrical productions and films including “Wet Hot American Summer,” and Jeremy Shamos, who was Tony-nominated for his performance in “Clybourne Park” and has appeared in television shows including “Only Murders in the Building” and “Better Call Saul.”

But when Lewis first walked into the open auditions the Nantucket Performing Arts Center (NPAC) held for her role of the Debator, she had no idea it was a professional opportunity. She thought her guidance counselor, Courtney Foster, had recommended her for another student production, like those run by the Dreamland.

“When I walked into the audition, I had zero clue what I was walking into, but I just wanted to do it because it sounded interesting, it sounded cool,” she said.

When NPAC’s associate producer, Natasia Reinhardt, started talking about contracts at her callback, she was shocked. But she has taken the challenge in stride and earned the respect of her co-workers.

“Everyone in the building loves Danielle,” NPAC Executive Director Drew Kowalkowski said. “She's also just a professional, and I don't think we could have engineered a better person in a lab for this play and for this role.”

Danielle’s first professional acting role is in NPAC’s first play, so she’ll be proving herself right alongside the organization. Kowalkowski said that Danielle’s story is emblematic of what NPAC wants to do, bringing together Nantucket residents and successful professional actors from off-island while serving as a bridge between Nantucket’s various arts organizations. NPAC plans to stay open year-round, hosting a wide variety of performances, not just plays.

Right now, the focus is on “What the Constitution Means to Me,” a bold choice for a first show.

“It's not a play that I think would be done on the island otherwise,” Kowalkowski said. “It is incredibly timely, it is a really great piece of theatre.”

The play is about the U.S. Constitution, delving into politically charged issues such as immigration, women’s rights, and domestic abuse. Lewis and Kowalkowski both lauded the play’s politics, saying that it feels especially topical in the country’s current political moment, even though it was written in 2017.

“It's so nice to just have a voice, and this play definitely does that for women. It definitely brings to light a lot of the things women have to go through in America,” Lewis said. “It's a very impactful, defining moment to do this play, because a bunch of the things we talk about are happening right here, right now.”

Lewis said that she felt she was uniquely positioned to bring life to her role as a Black woman and a first-generation American.

While she doesn’t have social media—a rarity for her generation, she said—that hasn’t entirely isolated her from the response to the show’s marketing. A lot of her friends have been asking her what the show is about, and she isn’t always sure how to answer.

“I have to like stall for a second before I think of the correct thing to say in that situation. And that's weird, I know that's weird, but it's also just the way socializing works. I can't walk up to one of my teenager friends and be like 'I'm a totally radical feminist right now,’” Lewis said. “So I have to be like, ‘yeah, it's a historical drama.’”

Danielle said her experience with NPAC has been amazing, but she doesn’t think she’ll become a professional actor full-time. Her dream job is working as a biomedical flight controller at NASA, supervising the support systems for astronauts.

“I really like space, stars are cool, but I really don't want to be in space. I want to be down here,” she said.

To that, she is applying early decision to MIT next month. And while it’s not the point, her acting gig with NPAC might help her get in.

“It really will look nice on a resume,” she said.

But first, she has two weeks of performances ahead of her. On opening night, she was feeling good.

“None of the usual nerves or stage fright are kicking in because I feel just so prepared,” she said. “Everyone here is actively acting in my best interest.”

Tickets to “What the Constitution Means to Me” are available here. Ten percent of all proceeds go to A Safe Place.