A lifelong resident of Owensboro, Chelsea Payne, is now a rising talent at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. After discovering a passion for theatre at Daviess County High School, Payne decided to follow her dreams, and “make magic” of her own after accepting an internship at Disney this past September.
“I started doing every show possible in every capacity at DCHS including performing in plays, musicals, choir, selling tickets, directing, speech team, basically anything I could to be involved,” Payne said. “After high school, I got into the community theatre here in town. Owensboro is blessed to be home to several amazing companies such as Theatre Workshop of Owensboro, Back Alley Musicals, Encore Musicals, and Owensboro Theatre Alliance and for the past few years I did numerous shows while I finished getting my degree at Kentucky Wesleyan College.”
Payne, a passionate Disney fan who played the role of Belle in the summer of 2017 for Bowling Green OnStage, has now relocated to Orlando where she has auditioned for a face character
role. She is currently in the “character pool” awaiting notification to see if she has been selected for the part. Her previous auditions include overseas parks in both Tokyo and Shanghai.
“After graduation in May, I couldn’t shake the thought of following my dream of performing,” Payne said. “I have always been a huge Disney fan and thought Orlando would be the perfect place for dreams to come true.”
Payne, who currently works merchandising at The Emporium at Magic Kingdom, hopes that her role with Disney will help to inspire young girls within Daviess County, and beyond, to follow their dreams, regardless of the situation.
“I would love to inspire girls to have the courage to follow their dreams no matter what they are,” Payne said. “It took a lot of faith to decide to move several states away from home to a place where I didn’t know anyone. But with hard work and passion, anything is possible.”
Payne added that one of the reasons why she loves Disney so much is its endearing commitment to the futures of children like the young girls who look up to the Disney princesses.
“One thing I love about Disney is their current #DreamBigPrincess campaign where they hope to inspire the younger generation of girls to believe and dream big through the unique qualities of their princesses,” Payne said.
Although Payne has had experience portraying Belle in the past, she admits Cinderella is her favorite.
“I love them all, but I would have to say my absolute favorite is Cinderella. Her kindness and determination to never give up is something that has always inspired me,” Payne said.
Payne hopes to continue her success with Disney and pursue other avenues in the future.
“As of right now, my goal is to get a performing job with Disney and possibly grow further in the company. Disney has endless opportunities with their different shows, parades, other theme parks (Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris), and their cruise lines, so I would love to have a chance to experience some of those as well,” Payne said. “I am also passionate about psychology, which is what my degree is in, so in the future I would also love to become a counselor.”
Regardless of what the future holds for Payne, princess gown or counseling hat, it appears she is on the path to making others’ dreams come true as well as her own.
