She caught the acting bug early

For some, the stage is a frightening place — the lights, open curtains and strange faces staring at you. But for others, that is exactly where the fun begins.

Meagan Robar, 25, found a home on stage, performing since she was 3 years old. Her childhood is full of dancing memories and performances with the Eglevsky Ballet Company. Yet, there is one special moment where she realized her true passion was acting.

“When I was 7 or so, my dance studio went to competition and I performed a production number to ‘Annie’ and I played Miss Hannigan,” she recalled. “At that competition, I won an award for Best Emotional Execution out of the whole competition. In that moment, it hit me that acting was something I wanted to pursue.”

After immersing herself in Long Island’s community theater scene, she began her training. While attending Valley Stream Central High School, from which she graduated in 2003, Robar joined the BOCES Cultural Arts Center to study musical theatre in her senior year. Robar performed in various plays at Central and begin crafting her talents at BOCES for her “undying passion,” she noted. Since then, she has amassed a rich resumé — a bachelor’s degree in acting from the University of Arts in Philadelphia, a nine-month performance contract with Disney Cruise Lines, national commercials for White Castle, Verizon Wireless and MTV and an upcoming role on a new television comedy series, “The SkinNY.”

“I love the challenge, the heart, and the endless growth,” Robar said about acting. “The challenge of taking on a new role: Embodying the person’s thoughts, emotions, actions is an incredibly difficult task…but so incredibly rewarding as well.”

Now, she is tackling another acting challenge — a role in the new off-Broadway show, “My Big Gay Italian Wedding.” The main characters, Anthony and Andrew decide they want to marry, but things do not exactly go as they planned. Their opinionated and rambunctious families and friends decide to intervene, setting off a host of hilarious hijinks. The show chronicles gay marriage issues, Robar said, but more importantly, deals with family values and love. “The message being that family and love conquers all,” she says.

A self-professed “marriage equality advocate,” Robar said she is thrilled to be a part of the show. She described her character, Connie Scuccifuffio as a “feisty bridesmaid who never leaves the house without hair as big and teased as possible.”

“Connie has the gum chewing, mouth of a truck-driver, and packs a punch of a J-Woww,” she said, referring to Jenni Farley of the MTV reality show “Jersey Shore.” Robar’s character is very excited to be apart of the wedding party, but upset that an ex-lover, another character named Lucia is also participating, creating lots of drama, she added.

After reading an online casting breakdown, she decided to “throw caution to the wind” and audition. She read her own material and the response was amazing, she said. After a callback, she got the part. On top of that, her participation now made her member of the Actor’s Equity Association. Rehearsals then began last April and the show opened on May 24 at the St. Luke’s theatre.

“There is so much heart that goes into acting and I believe that is what makes a performance something sacred and so special,” she said. “I have developed a sense of fearlessness, which as an actor is crucial. There’s no holding back or pretending. Just raw emotion, risks, vulnerability and connection.”