13 Year-Old Tess Mallon Is a Star of Stage and Song

The 13-year-old Tess Mallon does it all. At she enjoys writing poetry and taking creative writing in her Language Arts classes. She remembers working on poems since the fourth grade, but before picking up the pencil she was singing.

"We have home videos when I was little, (2) and I was running around the house singing, making up my own songs," she says.

As of today she has participated in several school talent shows where she has shown off her musical talents which include singing, piano, and mandolin. Her favorite performances usually feature pop songs like, "Best Day" by Taylor Swift, "1000 Miles" by Vanessa Carlton, and "Best of Both Worlds" by Hannah Montana. She discovered her love for singing and performing early on when she sang "Part of Your World" from Disney's The Little Mermaid in her second grade talent show. Despite all of her performances, she rarely gets nervous.

"When you go out there, you know what you are going to sing, and you've prepared for it and you know it. Just sing and have fun," she explains.

Her family is very supportive of her talents. Tess' father, who plays in a band, works with her voice and taught her and her sister the mandolin. At the moment, Tess has no aspirations to join her dad's band, but still enjoys singing with him. Her mother helps her pick out songs for the performances. She continually tries to develop her talent. Tess has been working on pairing her music and writing skills to develop original songs, but feels they need a little more work. The next instrument Tess plans on learning is the guitar.

Along with music and writing, Tess enjoys crafts. She makes friendship bracelets for her friends.

Recently she has ventured into acting. Her first big role was as the spoiled brat Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for her school. The role was fun to play since Tess got to perform with a British accent, plus all of her friends were involved, she added. She recently tried out for the Upper Darby Summer Stage and received a call back. In the end, Tess was a little disappointed when she didn't get the part, but is still happy to be involved with their production of Narnia.

Along with Narnia, Tess has been selected as one of the contestants for Media Theatre's DelCo Idol Jr. competition. She very excited about the contest and is focused on picking songs that "show who I am on stage."

It would be "amazing" if she won and would celebrate with her family, she says.

On and off the stage, Tess doesn't let competition get in the way. She also plays softball and volleyball, but always keeps things fun.

Her future plans do include acting, but Tess would like to study to become a child psychologist. In the meantime she is enjoying the spotlight and some summer beach time with her family.