Vicki Noon: A Rising Star -- A `Joyous' Voice And Blossoming Acting Talent Propel Local 13-Year-Old To Center Stage.

Vicki Noon thought she'd be playing a munchkin and a tree in the June production of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Washington Academy of Performing Arts in Redmond.

But a week before the production was to open, she was called and asked to play Dorothy instead.

"I'm, like, just totally in shock," says 13-year-old Noon, recalling the moment she took over the lead role. "That week was really hard, but after that, I kind of felt like, `Wow! I can do anything now.' "

It was an important and timely lesson. That's because just two months later, Noon won her first major professional role in the production of the musical "Violet" at A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle - a production in which all the other actors were adults.

"Violet" is the story of a young woman's journey to find a TV evangelist who'll pray away a facial scar from a childhood injury. Noon, a student at Maywood Middle School east of Renton, played the young Violet.

She was onstage in the opening scene, singing and playing with a deck of cards while swinging on a gate. When her stage father yelled, "Watch out!" she turned, then grabbed her face, the injury symbolically received.

Noon appeared in many other scenes as well, as the adult Violet recalled the pain of growing up disfigured.

"I think what made Vicki so very right for the part," says ACT casting director Margaret Layne, "is that she instinctively understood something about this character - that in spite of having a tremendously difficult childhood, she has no self-pity. There's a resilience, a toughness and a humor in the way she deals with the trials of her life.

"Plus, Vicki has a spectacular voice. I think it must be three octaves, and she sings with total effortlessness. It's just like breathing for her. It's just the most joyous, bright sound you can imagine."

"Violet" played from Oct. 22 through Nov. 15, with seven or eight shows a week. Noon missed a lot of school and now is struggling to make up the work. But she remains delighted with the experience.

"I met so many people," Noon says. "I made such good friends with the people from New York (who had come to Seattle to do the show)."

Noon's theatrical career began when she was 10.

"My mom knew I could sing, and she got me into some talent shows at the Seattle Center," she says.

In the first show she entered, she won "top vocal performance" honors for all ages, as well as "best variety" and "best vocal performance" for her age group.

Noon began working with performance coach Kelly Willis, then began taking musical-theater classes at the Washington Academy of Performing Arts, where Willis teaches.

Since then, she's had a number of other professional assignments besides the role in "Violet," including a studio job recording the theme song for a locally produced TV show about music.

Noon is aiming for a career in theater, but, she says, "I'm planning on going to college so I have something to fall back on if this doesn't work out."

With Noon's career beginning to gain momentum, her mother, Liz Noon, says, "I'm not sure as a parent what I want to happen here. Do I want Vicki to become famous? Part of me thinks that sounds great, but part of me thinks it sounds pretty scary."

But Vicki Noon has no such reservations. Would she like to be famous?

"Oh, yes," she answers swiftly, not even pausing to breathe.

Eastside Profile is an occasional feature of The Seattle Times Eastside edition.