Generous Act

Stevie Lee Romero remembers when acting became more than a hobby. In fact, he remembers the exact moment.

It was December 2010. Romero, then 10, was onstage at the Manatee Players Riverfront Theatre in the title role of “Oliver!” He portrayed the quick-witted, charismatic, spunky character with ease.  

“It was my first role that counted,” says the 14-year-old who had acted in a few other community theater productions before. “I like it because you can be different people at one time, but still be the same person when you go home.”   

Romero had acted in the Acting Up Performing Arts Camp’s “High School Musical 2” the summer before “Oliver!”
When a family friend learned the Manatee Players was looking for its local star, he suggested Romero try out for the part.

“I’m 10, I’ll do anything!” was Romero’s response. “It went from there to snowballing to working at other places,” he said.

Those other places included The Players Theatre for “Seussical” in October 2011 and last spring’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” produced by the Asolo Repertory Theatre.

For the role of Boy in the Barn, Romero, then just entering his teenage years, had to understand the perspective of a destitute teenager on the brink of starvation. He embraced the heavy subject matter by watching documentaries about the Great Depression.

“I was ecstatic to get the part because it’s a little role but a strong one,” says Romero. “It’s the final role of the show. It conveys what the entire Dust Bowl is during the Depression. It was a very mixed-emotions role. It definitely was not the cartoony experience I had with ‘Seussical.’”

The Great Depression-era play marked a significant leap in the young actor’s career. For one, he had moved on to regional theater, an environment filled with professional actors, some of whom have worked on Broadway. And two — he was one of them.

Romero acted in every performance during the month-long run — eight shows a week. He signed in every day, put on his costume and makeup and, like any professional, got paid every week.

In fact, his parents opened him a checking account so he could deposit his $50 paycheck each week from the show.

Recently, Romero noticed he had $50 left in his bank account — a fourth of what he made during the show’s run. He thought about what he could spend the money on, and he thought back to the theater that he felt embraced him from day one.

So he decided to give back.

“It was such a great experience, and a lot of theaters need donations to keep going. Maybe this theater doesn’t need it, but I wanted to show this theater my appreciation for everything they did for me.”

– Stevie Lee Romero

On May 13, Romero presented Asolo’s artistic director, Michael Donald Edwards, with the $50 check, a donation to the Asolo’s education program. The money will be used for a student to see a matinee performance of “The West Side Story” in the fall.

To a theater of this size that attracts patrons who donate thousands of dollars, the donation may not seem like much. But, to Edwards, the gesture was priceless.

“We need more people like you to tell other kids they need to come to theater,” Edwards said.

Romero wants kids his age to experience what he feels onstage — the transformative feeling of the theater.

“Theater is a part of American life,” says Romero. “It’s part of the world, and you learn something from every single play.”

Romero hasn’t acted in anything since “Grapes” closed in April — he hasn’t had time. An eighth-grader at the State College of Florida Collegiate School, he’s focused on finals this month. And he’s also deciding his high school future — stay at State College or go to Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School.

Recently Romero and his family went to New York City so that he could audition for the national tour of “Elf: The Musical” based on the 2003 holiday film starring Will Ferrell. He was told he was too old.

In terms of the future, Romero says he wants to enter professional acting or medicine. Whatever profession he chooses, Romero wants to give to the people around him.

“Medicine has always interested me because it makes people feel better,” Romero says. “And theater makes people feel better because you really help them with their sickness or just their day.”