Peter Pera Rises to New Heights with Drama

PHOTO CREDIT: PETER PERA

BY ANDY MORALES

As Cooper City High School senior Peter Pera walks takes the stage, lights shine brightly down on him. He’s ready to do what he loves most: perform. Even when he isn’t the main role of the play, he might as well be as he allows the character he’s playing to completely take him over. This is how he’s able to do so well on stage and exactly why he’s the new president for the drama department.

Pera found a love for the stage when a few of his friends who were involved in drama said that he should try it out.  These individuals thought he would do extremely well and claimed that it was nothing but fun, so Pera decided to give it a go.

Before drama, Pera was a part of CCHS’s marching band and had been playing the drums throughout his whole life. The switch from band helped him out greatly in drama because he was already musically talented. This helped the drama department recognize Pera as the new talented actor who could keep a beat. Being known as the talented new kid, however, isn’t enough to make it in drama. His talents would be put to the test when he was given a part on stage in his first musical The Wedding Singer. This is where Pera had decided that acting was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

“What got me into theatre was other people telling me that I’m very outgoing, funny and also that I can be great actor if I really try,” Pera said. “Honestly, theatre was something that never really interested me until high school. I found out I love to make people smile and laugh, so I thought theatre was a great opportunity to do that and really expand my talent.”

Pera proved his talent in the The Wedding Singer, where he played Sweet Jim, a drummer. Despite only having a few lines, he was on stage throughout most of the production, which gave him the confidence to take on bigger roles.  Many plays and performances later, Pera has proven that he can act, sing, dance, and most importantly, lead. That’s why this year he’s leading the drama department as its new president alongside vice president Jennifer Lopez.

His plans for this year are to raise awareness of all the new projects, plays, and performances that the drama department has in store for this year. One such play coming soon is Hair, which is a rock musical play that takes place in the 1960’s in the midst of the hippie revolution.  Pera knows that above all he can’t forget what makes the difference between a standing ovation and an empty room: the acting. That’s why, before a play, Pera tries to imagine exactly how the character he’s trying to portray should act.  It takes hours of memorizing lines and practicing on stage to completely fall into the character, but this is the secret of how Pera makes audiences believe that he’s actually the character he’s trying to play.

Pera has also found time to be a part of the drama departments acapella group, “The Soundwave”, despite having to devote long hours to his acting.  The group has performed many times for the school and has even taken their activities as far as singing for a few weddings. With all this practice, Pera has high hopes for all upcoming drama performances this year.

“From the moment I met Peter, I knew he always had talent,” former CCHS student and drama member Nate Promkul, said. “So when we started up our band I knew he’d be a very important asset.”

With all the success he’s accumulated throughout high school and all the experience he plans on getting this year, Pera is still unsure what he’d like to do with drama later on in his life.  One option for Pera is to take his talents studying abroad in England and try to take on acting roles while over there. No matter what happens, however, Pera plans on keeping drama a part of his life, even if it’s as small as acting in his church’s Christmas plays. His talents on stage are indisputable and whether he’s on TV, Broadway, or in a church play, Pera is just happy to be on stage.