Zelia ’ s first role was at age 6 when she and her siblings played orphans in “ Annie ” at Hanford High School , where Bianca Ankrum taught theater prior to joining the Edison staff .
“ This was so I could keep my kids close by , not necessarily to push them into show life . Promise !” Bianca Ankrum said .
Zelia , however loved it , and has been in numerous community theater productions . At age 9 she began auditioning for TV and movie roles . She auditioned for three years with no bites before she got the part of Maya Miller- Martinez in “ Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion ” when she was 12 .
Zelia said the part of Maya was the last to be cast in the year-long casting process . She had been called back three or four times for the part at a Disney building in Burbank . Not wanting to get her hopes up , she recalled telling herself , “ I ’ m just happy to be in the room .”
“ Everyone else was sent away and they said , ‘ Zelia , you stay ,”’ she said .
In her 12-year-old mind , she was worried they had caught her telling a lie . In a previous conversation with the casting crew , she had been asked the origin of her last name , Ankrum , and she had said she thought it was German . Her mom later told her it was not .
The casting crew asked her if she knew why they wanted to talk to her . She confessed she had been wrong about her last name .
“ They thought I was hilarious ,” she said .
Los Angeles , features their adventures after Violet takes on superpowers when a luchador mask “ chooses ” her .
“ I had a lot of fun . Definitely a new experience for me , a lot of learning on the job ,” Zelia said . “ It felt like such a blessing to have such a great cast .”
Zelia said she loved that her character was half white , half Hispanic – her real-life ethnicity . In fact , her mother ’ s maiden name is Martinez . Zelia is the youngest child of Bianca and Trevor Ankrum . Bianca Ankrum , who has taught at Edison for six years , has also done community theater and commercials .
Their other children , Juno ( a student at Fresno City College ) and Vega ( a senior at Edison ) are all actors as well in community theater , TV and commercials .
Zelia is not sure where acting and musical theater will take her , but her “ Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion ” role “ puts you on the radar ” she said .
“ Zelia ’ s pretty happy to be a kid . We ’ ll just wait and see what happens ,” Bianca Ankrum said .
Through her professional acting , Zelia is learning from student-centered and realworld experiences - one of the district ’ s primary goals for all students .
Left , Mallory Ketcheside rehearses with Zelia Ankrum for Bullard High School ’ s “ Harvey ” production .
Finally , 18 months later , Zelia took on the character of Maya , a quirky , smart coder / gamer and best friend to the show ’ s main character , Violet Rodriguez . The show , set in
16 FACES : ZELIA ANKRUM