Liza Corotan was a Washington Middle School sixth-grader when her dance teacher took her class to see “Grease” at the Kaimuki High School Performing Arts Center. Corotan enjoyed it so much that she went back to see it two more times. A year later, with encouragement and coaching from her teacher, Corotan successfully auditioned for Kaimuki’s production of a much more obscure musical, “Violet.”

Corotan, now 16 and a Kaimuki senior, has appeared in a number of KPAC productions and had a prominent role in the Manoa Valley Theatre/Kaimuki Performing Arts Center summer production of “Happily Eva Afta,” and opened this weekend in the Hawaiian Mission Houses revival of the late James Grant Benton’s pidgin “translation” of Shakespeare, “Twelf Nite O Wateva!”

JOHN BERGER: When did your journey in the performing arts begin?

LIZA COROTAN: I always loved singing, I loved dancing, but I didn’t know where to begin. I did talent shows in elementary and took my first dance class in the fourth grade, but seeing “Grease” showed me what I wanted to do. Getting cast in “Violet” was my big break. From there I was invited to audition for the Diamond Head Shooting Stars — I was accepted — and continued doing shows at Kaimuki.

JB: What are your priorities this year, beyond graduating?

LC: Everything revolves around singing, dancing and acting but I also love getting involved with the community. At school I’m part of the National Honor Society, I’m in AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), an elective that prepares you for college, I’m doing cheerleading for Kaimuki, and I’m doing “Twelf Nite.”

JB: What were some of the differences between high school theater and working with adult actors in community theater?

LC: One thing that was very different was that we had only six weeks to prepare. That was insane but I loved it because everyone helped each other. And for me and my (high school) friends, going through the process together with adults and being able to talk with them, we knew we had to be a bit more mature.

JB: Where would you like to be 10 years from now?

LC: I would like to be on Broadway. I’d like to be traveling, and I’d like to be making a difference in peoples’ lives. I’m not sure how, but that’s what I’d like to do.

“On the Scene” appears on Sundays in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.