Balancing careers as a high schooler and professional actress may sound daunting to some, but sophomore Eloise Lushina is up to the task. Acting is only part of Lushina’s identity, and even though you can find her on Netflix and IMDB, she is still a student who has chemistry tests like the rest of us.

“I’m able to get that high school experience I always wanted. It’s a good balance, and I can manage both; going to football games and being a professional actor,” Lushina says.

Beginning her acting endeavors in the second grade, Lushina started off by going to an acting club through the youth club Play On after school. There, she found her passion for performing as she began acting, singing and dancing regularly. Lushina worked with other Evanston performance companies such as Actors Gymnasium, Foster Dance and Mudlark Theater during elementary school.

By fifth grade, she began auditioning in Chicago and she started to make appearances in radio commercials and small student films. Lushina landed roles in a professional theater company as she reached seventh grade, performing in Paramount Theater’s Mary Poppins and A Christmas Story. Despite having eight, sometimes nine shows a week, Lushina attended a typical eight-hour school day and stayed on top of her work.

“I’ve never been so busy that I couldn’t manage school with acting. School is the place where I can make new friends. Yes, I love to act, but I wanted to be a normal kid,” Lushina explains.

Last year, Lushina juggled both acquainting herself with ETHS, and having a major role in Writer’s Theater, Trevor: The Musical, as the antagonist, Mary.
Lushina works in on-stage theater and film, sometimes auditioning and shooting work out of state. Her most notable projects, the Netflix movie Family Blood and an episode of the well-known crime show Law & Order SVU, required her to work on a professional set, filming with actors you may see on TV every week.

“It’s pretty cool, and something I’m really proud of. It’s great seeing the finished product because I don’t know what the finished product will be like. For the Netflix movie, I was in Kentucky filming for a month, and I worked so hard with it every day. It’s cool seeing how it’s going to turn out,” Lushina explains.

Currently, she works for the Actors Training Center, performing at fundraisers with notable actors like, Rachel Brosnahan who stars in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
“Something in the whole film world is what I’m interested in. I love creating my own films and being on the other side of acting,” Lushina explains.

On the surface, it may seem so, but acting is not the only thing Lushina is a part of. The proud Wildkit is on the Writer’s Showcase board and Community Service Club at ETHS. Whenever she can find the time, Lushina says she enjoys writing original music, singing guitar covers, watching The Office and writing her own films.

“As much as I love acting, I also want to try new things. ETHS has introduced me to new art forms like video class, but, right now, I’m an actor, and it is what I love to do most,” Lushina says.