For nine years, Zach Wilke put his heart and soul into wrestling and other sports like soccer.

But then the pain in his back started and after the soccer season his freshman year at Albert Lea High School, he learned he had a fractured vertebra — something he was born with.

“The doctor told me if I wanted to not be in constant pain, I should look at doing something else,” Wilke, the son of Ken and Lori Wilke of Albert Lea, recalled.

He’d just finished up being in the ALHS fall musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technical Dreamcoat,” a production he very much enjoyed. Some of his friends were trying out for the Albert Lea Community Theatre production of “She Loves Me,” so he auditioned and was cast. Soon to follow were “Father of the Bride,” “Cinderella,” “The Miser,” “The Nerd,” “Seussical” and “Ah, Wilderness!” which just ended its two-week run last Saturday.

Each role has been a different challenge for him. As Richard in “Ah, Wilderness!” he had to play a real, serious person. “It was a real challenge for me,” he said. “It’s hard to learn how to act drunk. I don’t drink. It was a real growing experience for me.”

In “The Nerd,” where he played Rick Steadman, he was the comic relief.

In “Seussical,” he was The Cat in the Hat, and found he could push his character to the limit.

While he had a big role in “Seussical,” Wilke said it was easier to get everything down because the dialog was set to music.

ALHS English and drama teacher Molly Wilken has directed Wilke three times, in “Cinderella,” “The Nerd” and “Seussical.”

“He has been a joy to work in these productions because he commits himself completely to the role,” Wilken said.

“Zach Wilke has the ability to not only act well but also react to what is going on in the scene and add nonverbal characteristics that add so much to his performances. In ‘The Nerd,’ he would add a little heel click to his nerdy character, and in ‘Seussical,’ he fully embodied The Cat in Hat even by how he walked, jumped and sat,” the director said.

Wilke said he looks forward to auditioning for the spring play, too.

Looking back, he said, “I miss sports, but I’ve found a passion for acting.” He has learned a lot, he said, from not only Wilken, but also Glen Parsons, who directed “Joseph and the Amazing Technical Dreamcoat” and “Ah, Wilderness!”

“He helped me every step of the way,” Wilke said of Parsons.

His first play was a production of “A Christmas Carol” for the community produced by Crossroads Evangelical Free Church. “I was supposed to play a child Scrooge, but I turned down the part because I was supposed to hold hands with a girl,” he said with a chuckle. He instead became part of the chorus.

He also had roles in the church’s productions of “The Christmas Post,” “Love Will Be Our Home” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

Wilke has a passion for music as well. “It’s the universal language,” Wilke said.

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Artistry with drums

The Stoneking family

Now a junior at ALHS, he is active in chorale, show choir, caroliers and choir. Wilke said he has appreciated being able to work with choral director Diane Heaney. “”She’s one of the biggest names in high school choirs,” he said.

Wilke also plays saxophone in band and jazz band.

In addition, he’s the co-worship leader for his youth group at Crossroads Evangelical Free Church with classmate Holly Ryks.

His hope after high school is to attend Eternity Bible College in Simi Valley, Calif., a two-year college. He said another option is Ocean Edge School of Worship in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He’d like to get a four-year degree in music with a minor in theater and become a worship pastor.

Wilke also sees himself doing mission work one day in Africa. His brother, Josh, and sister-in-law, Nicole, are currently doing mission work in Namibia.

“My brother’s been instrumental in my desire to do mission work,” he said.