Liberty High School grad Alexandra Chando stars in new ABC Family series 'The Lying Game'
Tiffany Bentley The Express-Times GREGG DELMAN
She made her acting debut in Liberty's production of 'Anything Goes.'
/pf/resources/images/lehighvalleylive/favicon.ico?d=1375
lehighvalleylive
Alexandra Chando landed her first big acting break as the lead in Liberty High School's theater performance of "Anything Goes."

By the time the State Theatre Freddy Awards gained prominence, the 2004 Liberty graduate was traveling to New York and Los Angeles for television pilot season auditions.

Now, at age 25, she is the star, twice over, of the ABC Family television series "The Lying Game," airing 8 p.m. Mondays. She plays identical 16-year-old twins Emma and Sutton, who devise plans to discover hidden family secrets, including the identity of their biological mother.

She took time for a phone interview Tuesday during her hour break in the middle of a 15-hour filming day for the show in Austin, Texas.

As far as playing two roles on the same show, she says it became easier by her 10th shooting.

She says there are parts of each character she connects with in performing the roles. She says while she is less like Sutton's character, there are also parts of her she can identify with.

She says Emma is more a reflection of herself.

Eric Smith, former theater director at Liberty High School and current principal at Spring Garden Elementary School in Bethlehem, says Chando, or “Allie” as he refers to her, is just that. Chando credits Smith for giving her her first big role and being an inspiration to her theater career.

He jokes that his only complaint about her is that she is never home now.

Chando says that getting back to Bethlehem is difficult because of her busy schedule, but her parents have been able to come visit her in Austin. She says some of the things she misses most about the Lehigh Valley are Wawa and Musikfest. She says this was the first year she's ever had to miss the festival.

As for other sacrifices to her developing stardom, she says,

"You really can't plan anything. But it's a great lifestyle. It's so spontaneous."

She says she has met some wonderful people including her male co-star Blair Redford, who plays Ethan Whitehorse, the twins' love interest on the show. But she says it's difficult to spend so much time with people and then to be done with a project. Her first major role came when she landed the part of Maddie on the soap opera "As The World Turns" and she does still maintain relationships with some of her former co-stars.

But she says the sacrifices are met with larger rewards.

Chando's break-out in the television world was documented in "MTV's True Life: I'm Getting My Big Break" when she earned her spot on "As the World Turns." But she attributes more than breaks to succeeding in the acting world. Her drive to succeed is something she credits for her achievements in a business that is critical, competitive and demanding.