Extra Effort: Ella John Dupree is a one woman show for Cape Fear Christian Academy
If you can name it, there's a good chance Ella John Dupree can play it.
"Tennis, volleyball, basketball, cheer, soccer and track, there it is!" Dupree exclaimed while practicing the first of her six sports.
"I've realized that it's easier to pick it up then to drop it," Dupree said. "I've fallen in love with all of them."
Dupree started playing tennis at the age of six and has been Cape Fear Christian Academy's (CFCA) number one varsity player since seventh grade. Head coach Page Jackson has been working with Dupree since the beginning.
"She'll do what it takes to win, she'll ask questions" Jackson said. "It's the same thing in the classroom, she'll ask questions to try and fix it. She wants to get better and that drive means a lot."
Dupree is also CFCA's student body president, number one in her class and was the school's scholar athlete of the year. It all can sound like a lot, but the senior has a flare for the dramatic.
"I've never been camera shy, so when the lights come on whether it's acting or tennis...I'm all show," Dupree said.
A leader on the court and in the classroom, Dupree is also the lead in many of Cape Fear Christian Academy's plays and musicals.
"I just love showcasing that emotion that sometimes words don't always get through, but sometimes having music behind it can give you more confidence to even sing what you want to say," Dupree said.
Between CFCA's productions and Harnett County Regional Theater, Dupree has played roles like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, the Genie in Aladdin, and Anna from Frozen. She's represented by a Raleigh Talent Agency and has even appeared as an extra in the Showtime television series Homeland. One of her favorite parts of performing is sharing the passion with her family. Her mother Ashley is a drama teacher at CFCA and her sister, Lily Kate, and father, John, both perform as well.
"I come from a family of singers," Dupree said. "My first play was with my dad in The Sound of Music, I was Gretel and he was Captain Von Trapp. As I got older I was Annie and he was Daddy Warbucks. It just kind of runs in the family. I do it with my sister as well, that also brings me joy with singing and acting. It's like a family affair."
"It's been so much fun, she's a role model," Lily Kate Dupree said. "Looking up to her and taking after her...I try to be more like her every single day."
"We've done so many cool shows together," John Dupree said. "Being able to be with her on stage and share that love of performing has just been wonderful."
Ella John's talents on the court, classroom and on stage earned her WRAL's Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award.
"I want to inspire everyone that if you have a drive, if you want to play something, you can do it," Ella John said. "It might take some practice, but you get out what you put in. The more effort you put in, the more you'll get out of it in the long run."
