Hi, I’m Claire Burbank and I’m sixteen years old. I always knew I had a passion for writing. In any free time I get, I think, “I want to write!” There are three reasons I do:
- It’s really fun to tell my own fictional stories with detail, drama and comedy.
- I want to publish my books so the world can read them and enjoy them.
- I want people to know the important issue of bullying but have a good time learning about it in a fun way (like Bullying, CBBC Volume One & Two, Five Crows, Sassy Tomatoes, Mo Lemont, Magically Acquainted and I’m Not Invited).
While I’m not writing, I’m either playing basketball, acting, singing, working on school work, baking, hanging out with my friends, or dancing.
Now finally, I’ll talk about my writing career. Once upon a time…just kidding, who does that anymore? It all started back in third grade when I made a little book about bullying. (Available on iTunes, just search Claire Burbank!) It was about this girl named Amelda and she gets bullied. She gets teased about her appearance and how she was different from the others. I had watched many movies about bullying and had seen some people get bullied and didn’t even realize it. It probably took me about thirty minutes to write this little 7 paged picture book. I brought it to my classroom and showed it to my guidance counselor, who was the person it was dedicated to. She recognized my care for bullying and put it on the school website. When it was taken down for the next piece of news to be shown, I wanted people to keep viewing it. So, I decided to publish it along with the help of my dad and his many IT director friends. It was a long process, but we ended up publishing it on iTunes, and I wanted to keep writing. So, I decided to make and publish more books about bullying, realistic fiction and not so realistic fiction. I currently have published eleven books. I have worked really hard on all of these books and if you choose to read them, I appreciate it and hope it helps boost spirits of younger children.
I have always been a fan of singing and acting. When I was younger, I used to go to church with my grandmother and older sister Ava (two years older than me). We always used to sing songs and do little plays. The first play I was in was Macbeth. I was Witch number one, which was a really great and fun part. My two best friends Sara and Jenny were witches number 2 and 3. The second play I was in was Annie. I was an unnamed orphan. It was a big play, and I was lucky to even get in it! So even though it was a small part, it was really fun. The third play I was in was Sasquatched the Musical. There were a lot of mistakes in it, but people still loved it. I was Roberta, which was originally Bert but was changed to a girl part for me. I sang a song called “Eight Feet Tall” about seeing Big Foot. That play was really fun, and Sara and Jenny were in that one, too. The fourth play I was in was The Little Mermaid, the school play. And guess what part I got? Ariel!! I was so excited when I got the main part, all of that past experience paid off! My other best friend, Ainsley, got Ursula, which was really funny because she had to act as my enemy! Acting and singing is one of my favorite things to do. I was also a main character in a play called Alice @ Wonderland, a modern take on Alice in Wonderland. That has been my favorite show so far! I’ve also been in The Wizard of Oz as an ensemble member and an evil witch, and was going to be in Anne of Green Gables as 17 year old Ruby until Covid-19 hit. Since then, I’ve been performing in online recitals and fundraisers with my voice teacher Hannah Bessette. I also won first place in the NATS Singing Competition in New Hampshire for the lower high school division.
Here’s a little update…Anne of Green Gables did run as a show, and I got to play Ruby! It was a great experience, and soon after that I auditioned for my first high school play. It was a musical called “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”, and I got a main part Sally! Since then, I was in Twisted Tales of Poe as the announcer, an assistant stage manager in the Yellow Wallpaper, and a co-director of the town play “The Town Meeting” written by local author Becky Rule! This was part of the 300th anniversary celebration of Nottingham, NH!
-Claire Burbank
