Central Iowa girl wins dream trip

A central Iowa girl will get to live out a dream later this month by performing on a Broadway stage in New York City. 14-year-old Ciera Lundgren, of Urbandale, was chosen as the Iowa winner of a theatre contest sponsored by the cable TV network Bravo. Lundgren, who attends Johnston Middle School, says she’s thrilled at the opportunity to get a taste of the big time. Lundgren is going on an all-expenses-paid trip to New York. For three days, she’ll undergo intense theatrical training with professional actors, choreographers and directors — along with the 49 other winners from schools nationwide. On the final day, April 26th, they’ll show off their singing, dancing and acting skills in a production at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway. Lundgren says she got a teacher’s recommendation, filled out a questionnaire and wrote a 500-word essay about why she wants to be a stage actress.Even her first name, Ciera, is tied to show biz — she says she’s named after a TV soap opera character. Lundgren’s already played several roles on stage in school and local community theatre productions. She says she was bitten by the acting bug years ago when she saw a familiar storybook tale performed live. It was a production of Cinderella.In addition to Lundgren’s trip, cable provider Mediacom and the Bravo network are donating one-thousand dollars to Johnston Middle School to help the fund the school’s arts programs. The contest “Bravo On With The Show: On Broadway…See Who You Can Be” was created to bring meaningful experiences and methods for communities to be involved with, connect and help restore theater arts education.