Anaheim teen is pursuing singing career

Lisa Tucker is not your typical teen-ager. The 14-year-old Anaheim resident is pursuing a singing career, which has led to other performing endeavors. By the time she was 11, Tucker had made the finals of "Star Search," landed the role of Nala in the Los Angeles stage production of "The Lion King" at the Pantages Theater and sang the national anthem at Edison Field and the Staples Center. It wasn't until she was eight that her parents, Eleanor and Stan Tucker, really took notice of their daughter's talent. "It was one of those evenings and I opened the door and heard her singing," Stan Tucker recalled. "I just thought that it was what girls her age do." With singing in mind, Tucker was brought to the Orange County Children's Theater to broaden her horizons into acting. She performed in the group's production of "A Little Princess." When "The Lion King" made its way to the West Coast, casting agents received Tucker's name from the Children's Theater. She went through five months of auditions before being cast as Nala. Rehearsals and performances were time-consuming, but it was a sacrifice her parents were willing to make. Tucker was tutored on set and attended regular classes only once a week. Her mother started working part-time in order to take her to practice and performances. "1 used to sleep in Lisa's CHRISTOPHER WAGNER, FOR THE ANAHEIM BULLETIN dressing room," Eleanor Tucker said. "I look back and wonder how we did it." Lisa Tucker said she enjoyed the experience. "(It was) fun, I loved it so much," she said. "My mom warned me that they (actors) were professionals, but when 1 got there it was like a huge family." She said she remains in contact with actors she met while performing. Tucker's ambition, however, is to be a solo singer. "I don't want to be a Britney Spears type," she said. She aspires to be "more like an Alicia Keyes because I play the piano." Tucker performs about three or four times a week throughout Southern California. Audiences, she said, "always ask 'How does that big voice come out of that little body?'" Tucker said. "I don't know. It just does." "I feel like it's not my little Lisa on stage," Eleanor Tucker said. "There's a transformation there and it still shocks me that it's really her up there." Tucker is a sophomore at Kennedy High School in La Palma. At school, Tucker said she rarely mentions her singing career even though her fellow students are aware of it. Her mother said that be cause of Tucker's laid-back attitude, she gets along with kids at school because she's one of them. "It's a trade-off," Stan Tucker said. "Some kids play sports. Lisa's extracurricular activity is singing." Since "The Lion King," she has had to sacrifice her free time in order to get her schoolwork done and have time to practice because of her busy schedule. "Sometimes I have a laptop in the car to study," Tucker said. "I also have to sacrifice time to go outside and play with my friends." Still, Tucker said performing is iun. "I have to do it," she said. "It's work, (but) when I'm on stage it's not. When I look out into the audience and see them it makes me feel good to see that they're enjoying themselves." The Tucker residence is full of singers. Her older brothers, Billy and Stanley, are rap artists. "I'm happy for her," Billy Tucker said about his younger sister. "I praise the success of her because I talk about me rapping. But she is the real star of the family." Marketplace seeks sports complex The Anaheim Indoor Marketplace is expected to ask the Planning Commission for approval of an indoor sports complex inside the current building at Monday's meeting. Marketplace officials were unavailable to provide details on the project, which is' listed in the commission's tentative agenda. The commission meets at 1:30 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd. BRIEFLY The program begins at 11 a.m. with a reception, followed by lunch at noon. Mayor Curt Pringle will give the keynote address. them it makes me feel good to see that they're enjoying themselves." The Tucker residence is full of singers. Her older brothers, Billy and Stanley, are rap artists. "I'm happy for her," Billy Tucker said about his younger sister. "I praise the success of her because I talk about me rapping. But she is the real star of the family." Cost is $45 per person.