When Charlotte Clementine Kolas was just six years old, she started musical theatre and that set her on a seven-year path leading up to her releasing original music on streaming platforms last month.
The 13-year-old from Newmarket said it all began when her parents noticed how much she loved to sing and perform for them at a young age. That led to them signing her up for musical theatre and she fell in love with it.
Her new three-song EP, Depths of the Sea, released under the stage name Charlotte Clementine, focuses on navigating friendships as a teenager while trying to find your voice. The EP follows a story of a friendship that became too overwhelming through its tracks, Drowning, Floating, and Rising.
“The song is about finally gaining a true voice and no longer having to feel small,” she said about the EP closer Rising.
Clementine says that since she was a young girl she knew she wanted to pursue a career in music.
“I always wanted to be a pop star,” she said. “I always planned on writing my own songs one day.”
Four years ago, Clementine began writing her own music and has already released three other original songs prior to her new EP. Performing her own music has been a surreal experience for Clementine.
“I usually start off nervous, but then just get so happy to be performing for everyone,” she said. “It makes me feel connected to the audience.”
Over the years, she’s been able to develop as a performer through different local opportunities. She performed Rising at Yonge-Dundas Square in July 2023, her favourite performance she says.
“It was very fun,” she said.
Last year, Clementine won five golds at the 2023 Newmarket Voice Festival under the guidance of voice teacher Irene Ilic. She then went on to win the speech arts category at the Ontario Musical Festivals Association.
Her passion for the arts doesn’t stop at just singing though, Clementine is also an avid actor who developed a love for it while participating in musical theatre.
“I fell in love with both aspects of musical theatre,” she said. “That’s why I wanted to pursue singing and acting.”
A student of Aurora’s Marquee Theatrical Productions, Clementine has been in more than 25 musical theatre productions and has even starred in a Staples commercial alongside Howie Mandel and in a commercial for Nintendo Switch.
With her love of performance art, Clementine has spent the last two summers writing and directing as part of Newmarket’s Very Useful Theatre Company’s youth company. Her work there was showcased at the Newmarket International Festival of One-Act Plays and won her awards.
“I really enjoy doing it,” she said. “It’s so much fun.”
While she’s already accomplished quite a lot at a young age, Clementine hopes to keep pushing to reach her goals.
“I hope I can write a bunch of albums,” she said. “I’d like to go on tour someday and perform my songs around the world.”
