The Recreationalist: Tell us about your Recreational journey up until now.

Annie: I started playing soccer at age 5 or 6. I had mad skills but wasn’t quite aggressive enough to be of any actual use — besides diligently running up and down the field, waiting for a moment to arise when I could perform some fancy tricks for the adoring parents before passing the ball off to a more goal-driven teammate. 

Then came basketball (point guard for four undefeated seasons, no big deal);

volleyball (whoever decided to put self-conscious teenage bodies into tiny bloomers was insensitive at best and “check-their-browser-history” at worst);

track and field (nobody wants to run the goddamn 400, it lasts 200 meters past the point where you want to be sprinting);

and softball (too much standing around and I bruise easily).

But things shifted in high school when I discovered theater and jazz band.

The Recreationalist: How did you keep Recreation a priority after your focus moved from an exercise-heavy athlete’s schedule to music and the arts?

Annie: I still made it a point to exercise regularly. There’s this old trope about the rivalry between jocks and outcasts — musicians typically fitting into the latter category. But in my experience, team sports prepared me for my entire life. They taught me how to be tough, how to push myself mentally and physically, and how to train for ‘showtime.’ 

whoever decided to put self-conscious teenage bodies into tiny bloomers was insensitive at best and “check-their-browser-history” at worst.