Amber Wilson, 15, has wanted to be on stage since she saw her first pantomime as a toddler.

Amber will play Clarisse, one of the main characters in the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society's (BMDS) new play, 'Fahrenheit 451' based on the Ray Bradbury novel.

She is a Warwick Academy student and the daughter of Lorren and Bernadette Wilson. "'Fahrenheit 451' is set in the future," said Amber. "Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which books burn."

Fahrenheit 451 is essentially the story of a community experiencing censorship and oppression. In this fictional world the masses are hedonistic and critical thought through reading is banned.

"In the book there is this fire department whose job is to set fire to books," said Amber.

"My character turns the life of a fireman, Guy Montag, upside with her ideas about books, and what they should be."

Amber said in the novel, Clarisse turned the world upside down with her ideas.

"Guy Montag has already been moulded to believe that books are bad," she said. "But Clarisse's changes his thinking."

Amber said that like Clarisse, she has always been a book lover.

"Her character is a bit like me, but more out there because she is so different from everyone else," said Amber. "If this play has done anything, it has made me be more in love with books.

"It shows how you should always take care of what you have."

She said that in the play, the book people showed great passion for their beliefs by memorising books so they wouldn't be lost forever. "The story also shows that you shouldn't get too involved in technology because it could eventually bite you in the butt," she said.

Until Amber tried out for the play, she'd never heard of the 1953 Bradbury novel.

"When we started the play, my school started teaching it in International Baccalaureate (IB) Prep. So we watched a movie, and then we are going to read the book."

She said remembering her lines has not been too much of a chore.

"It is more conversation, and I find that memorising conversation is easier," she said. "You look for the simple gestures and cues that the other actor or actors make. It is easier to learn than long monologues."

She was in her first play at the age of eight. Since then, she has been in two performances a year.

"Last year I was one of the three children in the 'Railway Children' with BMDS. I have also been in school plays such as 'Blood Brothers'. I was Juliet in 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Amber said she is considering acting as a potential career.

"My mother is a nurse and my father is a lawyer," she said. "But my little sister, India, is more into acting than I am. She followed me into it."

She said her parents are both very expressive.

"I think I pulled some of their genes," she said. "My mother liked to perform when she was little."

Amber said as a little girl, she counted down the years until she was old enough to be in her first Christmas pantomime.

"I had always enjoyed watching pantomimes when I was little," she said. "When I turned eight I finally got into one.

"My first pantomime was 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' in 2003. When I was first in it was an awe inspiring thing to be on the stage instead of watching from the audience.

"That excitement triggered me to go back. ."

She also hopes to be in an upcoming school play at Warwick Academy, 'Return to the Forbidden Planet' which will be performed in November 2010.

'Fahrenheit 451' is on at the Daylesford Theatre from July 1 to 9. Show time is at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 and available from the Daylesford box office.

They are available between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on performance nights.

For more information contact jburrell@northrock.bm or polina@ocean.bm.