Hi, my name is Sheridan.

I am 11 years old and go to school in Northbrook, Illinois. I am an only child and live with my mom.  At school I participate in band, where I play the cornet. I am also in Tae Kwon Do after school; it’s a lot of fun. I play piano and have been taking lessons for about five years. I love to sing and act, and you will often find me in a play – I especially enjoy musicals. I have fun competing in natural scholarship pageants and currently am a supreme title holder. When my mom told me I was cast on INTO THE OUTDOORS, I was very excited!  I want to be in a magazine in print, or on TV or in a movie, and here I am!

I am really excited about being on this show because I love the outdoors. Science is my favorite subject in school. Recently I was volunteering on Open Space land, reserved land in Libertyville Township, Ilinois. Being out in nature is so great because you get to learn and understand these things. Shows like INTO THE OUTDOORS make learning about science and nature so much more fun and enjoyable, and I really appreciate the outdoors so much more from being on this show!

Q: How did you get picked to be on Into the Outdoors?

A: was picked to audition with 17 other kids through my agent.

Q: How do your friends and family feel about you being a host on Into the Outdoors?

A: My mom is very excited for me and proud. My friends and family think it is very cool.

Q: What is the best part about being on Into the Outdoors?  And the coolest thing you’ve ever gotten to do on a shoot?

A: The best things I’ve done so far are getting to be out in nature, being on an American Indian reservation, and holding that tiny bird! On the days we did the shoot, one of my friends was taping a segment – I liked getting to be with her on location.

Q: Did you learn anything interesting on your shoot that you didn’t know before?

A: I learned about the way wild rice is grown in the wild and how it is collected. I found that very fascinating.

Q: What did you learn about the shooting process of Into the Outdoors that you didn’t already know?

A: It takes many takes to get the correct one! You have to be patient and be able to do the same scene over and over to get every angle correct. And if you mess up on the lines, they have you do another take. But these shoots actually were really quick. I also learned that you can’t control nature or the outdoors. The sun can be in your face, or it can rain and ruin the shoot day completely.

Q: What is a normal shoot for you like? Do you get to travel?

A: All shoots are different depending on where you are shooting, the location, and what you are shooting. Lately I have only had to travel from Illinois to Wisconsin. That can be far, though. For Into the Outdoors, I had to drive six hours and got to stay overnight at the hotel the day before the shoot. Then we had to worry about the weather. Because my segments were entirely outdoors, there was a risk of rain ruining the shoot day and the need to have to reschedule for another day. You have to be flexible.

Q: Do you have to wear make-up or special clothes? Who decides these things? Do you hang out with the crew? I have so many questions I don’t know where to start… tell me everything?

A: For Into the Outdoors they let me wear my own regular clothes. The wardrobe is decided by the director or the producer of the shoot.  With Into the Outdoors I need to dress appropriate for the weather and for what we are doing and where we are going. I hang with my mom and do what I am told. When acting, you want to be very cooperative so they like you and want to use you again in the future. You need to build a good reputation so you can get more work.

Q: Is it hard to make up school work when you have to miss class for an Into the Outdoors shoot? When do you make up the work?  And would your parents still let you be a part of the Into the Outdoors cast if your grades started to go down?

A: My mom is very serious about me getting my homework done. I don’t miss school too much for my acting jobs, but if I did she would definitely make sure I got my homework done. I am expected to get good grades – luckily, I am doing pretty well in school. I attend a private, religious day school, so I have a double curriculum with language classes and religion classes as well as the normal math, science, English, and social studies.

Q: What do you do for fun when you’re not shooting Into the Outdoors?

A: I like to play with my friends, bicycle, jump rope, sing, listen to music on my iPod Touch, play games and hang out. I also do a lot of community service and am busy every weekend. I enjoy going to movies, too, and hanging with friends.

Q: What kind of music do you listen to? And do you listen to it between shots or locations on a shoot?

A: I listen to popular music for teens. I like lots of different groups and singers. When I am on location I relax and do as I am instructed. If there are long down times, I can listen to my iPod or play on my Nintendo DS. If I need to, I review my lines.

Q: What is your favorite movie and why?

A: I enjoy so many movies, I can’t just pick one.

Q: Have you done any acting before? If so, what has been your favorite role?

A: I was in a Wisconsin Bureau of Tourism commercial and that was so much fun. Of course I missed school! Then I got to shoot at a water park and got paid to play! I am also in lots of plays. I especially enjoy musicals. In my last play I was Muriel in the musical Groovy.

Q: What kind of activities do you participate in at school and in your community?

A: At school I am in band and Tae Kwon Do. Out of school, I do a lot of community service volunteering at local food pantries, donating time at the animal shelter, doing walks for cures for cancer and so much more. I also take piano lessons. I am often in a play and sometimes I take voice lessons. I am also involved in natural pageant systems as well. They are a great place to hone your acting skills and interview skills, and meet nice people. I have a lot of fun wearing pretty clothes, too!

Q: If you could be ANYTHING in the world when you grow up, what would it be? What’s so cool about it… and is that what you’ve always wanted to be?

A: Although I really enjoy acting, modeling and singing, for the past few years I wanted to be a zoologist and care for the penguins. But recently I re-evaluated and decided I want to be an archeologist. I think it would be fascinating to find dinosaur bones and dig up fossils.