Go ahead, call her a drama queen -- Allison Jaynes lives to act.
"I love acting because you get to take on problems and just be someone you thought you could never be," she said.
She spends a lot of her time practicing at the Zachary Scott Theatre. She's a hard worker with big goals in mind, like hitting Broadway and taking home a Tony.
Sunday night she watched Julie White live out that dream. The Broadway star from Austin got the Tony for best actress in a play, beating out legendary actresses like Angela Lansbury and Vanessa Redgrave. White won for her performance in the play The Little Dog Laughed.
"It's kind of encouraging to know that out of a small town you can get into big theatre and win awards," Jaynes said.
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Inspiring Austin's thespians
Actress Julie White's Tony win is sure to light the fires of many young actors hoping to make it to Broadway.2882616983
 
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Born in San Diego, Calif., White moved to Austin when she was three, and then grew up in Northwest Austin, a fact she was always proud of. She claims it as her home, telling papers she went to Doss Elementary, Murchison Junior High School and, later, Anderson High School."
During high school, White worked with the Center Stage Theatre Group and practiced on Sixth Street in the old Ritz Theatre building. By age 16 she was stealing lead roles in Austin area plays.
After attending what was then called Southwest Texas State, now Texas State University in San Marcos, she attended Fordham University and made her way to Broadway. Then she tried out TV in the ABC Sitcom Grace Under Fire. She also acted in ABC's hit Desperate Housewives.
Aspiring actresses like Jaynes hope White's win will help put Austin on the thespian map.
"We need people to realize that there is good theatre and good art stuff here in Austin," Jaynes said.
