The Franklin News-Post
P. O. Box 250
310 Main Street, SW
Rocky Mount, Virginia 24151
540-483-5113
Fax: 540-483-8013
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Chinah Helmandollar |
Monday, June 23, 2008
By CHARLES BOOTHE - Staff Writer
Chinah Helmandollar is in Roanoke this week representing Franklin County in the annual Miss Virginia pageant.
The 2005 Franklin County High School graduate and James Madison University rising senior said she is excited.
"I'm glad it's finally here," she said Friday before making the trip to the Hotel Roanoke, where contestants will be staying. The rehearsals and Saturday's show will be held in the Roanoke Civic Center.
"On Thursday and Friday nights are the preliminaries," she said, adding that the top 10 contestants will be selected those nights. An 11th contestant, the "People's Choice" representative, will be selected by online voting.
Helmandollar, who is majoring in theater at JMU, will be performing a song, "Look, Ma, I Made It," from the musical comedy "Nunsense II" during the contest.
"I love being on stage, and it's fun being around people who are going through the same things," she said. "Everybody has prepared just like me. You get to know the people and get so close."
The Hardy resident said she loves to sing, but acting is her main goal.
"It's straight acting for me," she said. "I love singing and dancing, but my training has been mostly in acting."
The daughter of Jan and Ben Helmandollar, she said the Miss Greater Franklin County pageant was the first she had ever entered, and she'll be handing over that crown on July 27 when this year's pageant is held.
This week, though, is the highlight of her reign, and she said she is looking forward in particular to Saturday night's television show, which starts at 9 p.m. and will be aired by Channel 13 in Lynchburg. That's when the new Miss Virginia will be crowned.
"Performing on TV is definitely going to be the most fun,"ﾠshe said of the week's activities.
Helmandollar said she plans to move to Washington D.C., after graduation and try to break into the theater business.
"There's a good theater community there,"ﾠshe said, "and it's a good place to try to break in and move from there into an internship (with a theater group)."
She hopes at some point to be able to move to New York City or Los Angeles.
Kellye Cash, Miss America 1987, will emcee the event Saturday night. Tickets are $40 each.
To cast an online vote for the 11th semi-finalist, go to missva.com.
For more information on the pageant, contact J.T. Foley at jtfoley9@localnet.com.
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