Twenty-four-year-old Caroline Taylor grew up in a household where following your dreams and pursuing your passions were encouraged. As the daughter of Marionettes Chorale conductress, Greta and Jeremy Taylor, a media and performing arts personality, she spent her childhood seeing her parents’ passions mix and match to pay the bills. And now she intends to use hers to do the same thing and help others in the process.

For years she has made a name for herself, feature writing for magazines such as Caribbean Beat and performing with various local choirs. But this year, she is taking a bigger step. In August, the expressive, smiling lass will be taking a trip to the Big Apple to perform a self-written piece entitled Pack Light at the New York Fringe festival.

Running from August 11 to 27, the festival will feature hundreds of artistes from all over the world doing a myriad of performances. Taylor will be the first Trini to ever grace the stage at the festival which is also celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

Her piece Pack Light, is an hour-long satiric, sometimes humorous, choreographed monologue.

“It deals with the phobias that people have of those that are different to them. It touches on the need we feel to put people in boxes, to categorise to make them less scary,” she said.

In her piece, she talks about her experiences in foreign countries where people would ask, “What are you?”

“Of course in T&T, I am a callaloo and nobody tries to ask what race you are. But in the States, there is a lot of pre-conceived notions about migrants, especially after September 11.”

Pack Light also touches on the separation anxiety which migrants feel and takes a look at T&T and the myriad of cultures, religions and races which co-exist. With the help of a projection screen Taylor even traces her family tree with the audience and introduces them to T&T.

The first time Taylor performed Pack Light was in 2004 at Caribbean Heritage Week.

“It was created from a course project I did at Williams College, called Fragments of Creole Memory,” said Taylor, who holds a degree in performance studies.

At present, she works with the Aurora Creative Arts Centre, a local non-profit arts organisation, which aims to develop the talents of young, local performers.

“I am excited about the new performing arts academies which are in the works, and while most local performers complain that our passion does not pay, I think it’s time we stop just saying it and actually take steps to change that.”

Residence: Maraval

Date of birth: May 5, 1984

Height: Five feet seven inches

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Age: 24

Marital status: MYOB (Mind your own business)

Personal credo: What don’t kill does fatten and what don’t fatten, will purge.

Best advice ever received: If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Secret Fear: Failure

Most influential person in your life: My mother, Greta Taylor, she is an incredibly strong person who has done a lot with her life.

Best personality trait: I think I am always trying to find the truth in every scenario. I search for the bottom line, what lies beneath, overall I am very frank, honest,truth-seeking and compassionate.

Hobbies: Reading, writing, listening to music and tennis and volleyball. I also like trying new things, like every week, I try something I have never done before.

Favourite food: I can’t just choose one you know but anything made from potatoes is at the top of the list.

Best book ever read: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. It deals with a lot of the inequalities that people face with nationalism and colonialism. It shows how certain countries became subjugated to colonialism and that’s through guns, germs and steel. It really is a slap in the face to arguments about racial supremacy.

Turn ons in men: Thoughtfulness and emotional maturity.

Turn offs in men: Arrogance and insensitivity.

One place you would like to visit before you die: I would like to go diving in one of those shark cages in the Barrier Reef, Australia, to see a great white shark, up close. For a while when I was younger I wanted to be a marine biologist but I was very bad at science, so that did not work out, but I still love the water and those big predator-like animals... very fascinating.

Future Plans: Continue performing and be involved in developing the cultural and arts field in T&T, and working in arts and education because I think those are very promising fields.

Describe yourself: I would say I am thoughtful, tentative and sometimes moody.

Interview: Aretha Welch

Photo courtesy www.PackLightTrinidad.com