What the 17-year-old Fisher didn’t expect was to hear her name called as the Outstanding Leading Actress winner at the 18th Annual Hershey Theatre Apollo Awards.

For a moment, she didn’t move. “I was so surprised,” Fisher said. “You’re standing there with the best of the best, with professional evaluators watching you. It didn’t feel real.”

But the applause was real. The lights were real. The moment was real. And so was the long, winding journey that brought her there.

Fisher’s path to the Apollo stage began years earlier, long before she ever imagined herself as a leading actress. She tore her ACL twice — once as a freshman playing soccer, and again her sophomore year at church camp when another student pushed her.

Submitted photo
Adelie Fisher, left, gets a kiss from mom Gabby at the Apollo Awards.

“I told them I had to quit the musical because I couldn’t walk,” Fisher said. Her doctor told her the only way she could perform was in a wheelchair. So she did.

“It was ‘Wonka,’ and they said, ‘We can figure something out.’ They gave me a character — a disabled candy kid — and put me in a wheelchair.”

The injury ended her sports career, but it opened a door she didn’t expect. “I’m not glad I tore my ACL,” she said, “but it was a blessing in disguise. I wouldn’t be as committed to theatre if I hadn’t gotten injured.”

From that moment on, she poured everything into acting. Ensemble roles, featured roles, understudy roles — she took them all seriously.

“There were definitely times I didn’t get good parts and thought it was the end of me,” she said. “But I learned that smaller roles are just as important. You work hard in them. You grow.”

Submitted photo
Adelie Fisher, second from right, played Lucy in the East Juniata High School Theatre program’s production of ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.’ Also pictured are, from left: Jonah Hess as Peter; Jordana Steffen as Susan; and Sam Noel as Edmund.

Her first major breakthrough came her sophomore year, when she played Sid Prince in the East Juniata High School Theatre Program’s production of “Sherlock Holmes.” The performance earned her an Apollo nomination for Best Featured Performer, a moment that showed her she belonged onstage. “That nomination meant a lot,” she said. “It helped me see I was improving.”

Finding her voice onstage

By senior year, Fisher had earned two leading roles: Lucy Pevensie in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and Grace Banker in “The Hello Girls.” Both roles demanded emotional depth, stamina and maturity.

“I’m grateful I got to experience every type of character,” she said. “Lucy goes through so many emotions. Grace is strong and determined. Playing both helped me see my own improvement.”

Lucy, especially, felt personal. “I have one sister and two brothers, so the sibling dynamic felt natural,” she said. “Lucy’s caring nature reminded me of how I am with them.”

A calm she didn’t expect

On the morning of the Apollo Awards, Fisher felt something unusual.

“I wasn’t nervous,” she said. “That was Jesus. I said a prayer before the show started, and I felt calm.”

Performing her monologue didn’t shake her. Standing backstage didn’t shake her. Even the packed house didn’t shake her.

“It was the most people I’ve ever performed for,” she said. “But I wasn’t nervous to act. I was only nervous to hear the winner.”

When the finalists stood hand-in-hand waiting for the announcement, Fisher felt her heart pounding. “Then they said my name,” she said. “And everything just … stopped.”

A résumé that keeps growing

Fisher’s win caps a theatre career that includes:

• “The Addams Family” — Lurch (understudy of Morticia)

• “The Plot Like Gravy Thickens” — stage crew

• “Sherlock Holmes” — Sid Prince (Apollo nominee, Best Featured Performer)

• “Wonka” — Sophie, the wheelchair candy kid

• “Little Women of Orchard House” — Marmee

• “Frozen Jr.” — Bulda

• “The Cat Screamed Murder” — DCI Leona Law

• “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” — Lucy

• “The Hello Girls” — Grace Banker

She loves musicals, but plays hold a special place in her heart. “You get to focus on acting,” she said. “It’s a place to shine.”

Looking ahead

Fisher plans to study theater at Susquehanna University after earning acceptance into the school’s ultra-competitive Bachelor of Fine Arts program. “Not many students get into it,” she said. “You have to show you belong there. But I’m going to work for it.”

She dreams of performing professionally — maybe even at Sight & Sound Theatre in Lancaster. “I love acting so much,” she said. “I’m grateful for where I’ve been, and I want a job in acting someday.”

A win years in the making

For Fisher, the Apollo Award isn’t just a trophy. It’s proof.

“Winning helps you see your improvement,” she said. “It’s not just relying on other people telling you you’re good. You feel it.”

From a wheelchair on the “Wonka” stage to the spotlight at Hershey Theatre, Fisher’s journey has been anything but easy. But on Sunday night, as the audience rose to its feet, one thing was clear. She earned every bit of it.