With feet dangling just above the floor, Melissa Larsen sits in the padded seats of Ogden’s small high school auditorium, watching the people on stage rehearse. She moves her lips, reciting verbatim what the cast is saying. When it comes to the choreography, she excitedly flails her limbs, executing the seated version of what the cast is doing.

At that point in time, Melissa was only 8 years old, and, even though her feet could not touch the floor, she knew exactly what was happening on stage.

Both of her parents majored in an area of the performing arts at Iowa State. Melissa’s mother, Micki, is the owner and teacher of Micki’s Gotta Dance in Ogden. Melissa’s father, Dave, is the vocal and theater teacher for the elementary and high school in Ogden.

“It became a part of her life,” says Dave.

Dave says he remembers Melissa traveling with him to the theater every day to watch him direct.

“I used to beg to go over to the theater with my Dad to watch rehearsals,” says Melissa, an ISU alumna. “I knew all of the lines, music and choreography, and by the time I could read, I was helping the cast memorize their lines.”

Melissa chose Iowa State because she knew its theater program was just getting its start. But, she says, she went through many job options before deciding on theater.

“One day my dad asked, what was the one thing I could see myself doing every day? My answer was: going to rehearsal. My dad said, ‘Are you serious?’ I said yes, and he told me I should go for it.”

While at Iowa State, Melissa was involved in more than 10 ISU productions, playing both ensemble and leading roles.

After graduating in December 2002 with a BFA in performing arts, Melissa flew to Los Angeles, for open auditions for the national tour of “Hairspray.”

“It was an open call, so there were at least 500 people there. I waited in line for a long time and when they called my name I went in front of the casting director and sang 16 bars of the ’60s song, ‘One Fine Day.'”

Melissa was called back and went through auditions in front of the entire “Hairspray” creative team for another week.

“After going through all the auditions, they pretty much told me that I was going to be in the ensemble starting in July,” Melissa recalls.

So, she flew back home and packed her bags to move to Los Angeles because she thought it would be more fun to wait on the beach.

After her move, however, she never got the phone call. She lived in Los Angeles for a year without receiving any word from the touring company. She took jobs to fill her time, some of which she did not particularly enjoy, including working for a company where she dressed up as Cinderella for birthday parties.

She decided to move home to Ogden in December 2003.

For the next five and half months, Melissa lived at home and worked, saving money to do what she says was her ultimate goal: to move to and audition in New York City.

In the summer of 2004, everything changed. The casting company in New York City called Melissa in July inviting her to Los Angeles to re-audition. This time, they kept her for five days.

Although they said they would give her a call, she says she did not allow herself to get her hopes up, considering the last time a promise was made.

Two weeks later, on her way home from work she discovered a voicemail on her cell phone. It was from a member of Bernard Telsey Casting, the casting company for “Hairspray.”

Melissa immediately returned the phone call and was offered the ensemble role of Brenda and understudy for the role of Penny.

“He asked if I was excited,” Melissa says. “I said yes, and he said it was OK to scream, so I did.”

Four months later, she is now in New Orleans having already toured and performed all over the country.

Melissa, who is now 24, says her next step is to audition for Broadway productions in New York City.

“If its something in your heart that you really want to do, you just have to keep trying,” Melissa says.