Stage center with just a spotlight on his face creating an adventure on stage for everyone to enjoy, Asher Moore is a driven, passionate, and creative high schooler who has been directing his life into a show. Moore grew up participating in gymnastics, softball, and piano while making sure he stayed focused on school. He was always busy.

Moore joined theater his sophomore year since he felt drawn to the stage when he was younger.  to join after seeing the productions of Puffs in 2020 at PRHS and the production, Hamliton, in San Francisco. Moore instantly fell in love with theater playing the gambler in Addams Family the Musical. After Addams Family he audition to join Acting 3.  And this year he has now gone into acting 4, and directors practicing Other shows he has participated in include: Lion King kids, Anything Goes, Fairy Cakes, Finding Nemo, and is currently playing Amos Hart in this year’s spring play, Chicago the Musical (teen edition).

“It’s just very freeing, it’s like an escape, I guess. Once you’re on stage all the issues you might have don’t really matter at that moment. It’s a very like, I guess validating experience,” Moore described about how he feels on stage.

Moore stays busy by being part of the Monarch Conservation club, co-president of Drama club, and a student director in Acting one. In Drama club he helps on approving purchase orders, sets up events for the theater department, and orchestrates promoting upcoming productions. As a student director he is working with students, and being there for them. He says it’s a very different experience than being an actor, but it’s also something that he enjoys doing, since when he was in acting he always looked up to his student director and now he wants to be someone to look up to. A true full circle moment.

He has been working with his students alongside Danika Nutile as well creating a play for acting which was presented May seventh.

“I’ve known Danika since we were 10 and have been in the theater department together. She’s really talented. I’ve always looked up to her,” Moore said.

Over the last few years in high school they’ve been working side by side in different plays at the high school making their bond even stronger than ever before.

Moore is truly grateful to Nutile for always supporting him throughout his journey.

“I’m most proud of his confidence throughout the last few years. He is a completely different person from freshman year to now. A characteristic of Asher that I find most admirable is the way he is so inclusive and open to other people that he might not know” Nutile said.

Someone else that has more to thank is his parents.

“They always try to push me to do my best to like in school or any other thing I was involved in,” Moore expressed about how his parents have always been there for him pushing him to do sports when young and now supports and pushes him to pursue his dreams of theater.

Having the dream of theater wasn’t always his plan until he had really participated in a play in PHTC (Paso High Theater Company). Moore mentioned that part of the reason he loves theater is Marcy Goodnow and the way she leads the program.

“Goodnow creates a very safe environment that everyone can just let their creative juices flow and it’s a very judgment free zone,” Moore said.

Goodnow has seen him grow since he joined acting his sophomore year. She has described him as someone who is creative, kind, has an amazing work ethic, and is a leader. Goodnow has been his director for 3 years

“I love seeing Asher connect to a character on stage. There is a very obvious time when he figures out who his character is. One of my favorite times seeing this was in CHICAGO when he played Amos. He was able to connect to his character and the audience would audibly “Awww” as he sang ‘Mister Cellophane’. It was magical,”  Goodnow said .

Moore will become a Beaver at Oregon State pursuing theater. His grandparents also went to Oregon and they would always talk about how much they loved the school and he has always loved the beauty that Oregon has to offer, which were some of the reasons he chose Oregon State. One of the things Moore is most excited about going to college is meeting new friends and being a part of a new community. He will step into the spotlight thanks to all the confidence that PHTC gave to him at the PRHS.