First Date's Sara Chase Looks Back on Tube Tops, L.L. Bean Backpacks and Her Favorite High School Beverage

As kids all over America head back to school, Broadway.com decided to ask our favorite Broadway stars to look back at their own years in the classroom—and share a school picture! Sara Chase, who is giving a hilarious and touching performance as Grandma Ida, Lauren and Aaron's Mother in First Date, recalls bus rides with the lacrosse team, her shameless excuse for avoiding a test and more.

Who was your favorite teacher and why?
Alex Zequiera and Richard Chiarappa from Kingswood-Oxford School in Connecticut. They always encouraged me to perform and helped foster my appreciation for theater. (School questions are making me self-conscious. Did I use a dangling participle? Am I being graded?)

What advice would you give to your school-age self?
You can’t pull off tube tops, so don't even try.

In school you would have been named “most likely to…”
I was voted “most theatrical,” so I don't think anyone would be surprised that I’m still at it.

What song sums up your school experience and why?
I was a big procrastinator in high school, so I’m gonna come back to this question later and probably never answer it.

What’s your favorite back-to-school item?
L.L. Bean monogrammed backpacks! It was a “thing” we all did. I knew everyone's initials.

What class did you dread and why?
I don't mean to perpetuate lady stereotypes but math was so hard! And the only time I’ve ever seen it used as an adult was when Lillias White sang “The Oldest Profession” [in The Life] and had to tally how many men she’d laid—and even then she used a calculator.

What is your most embarrassing school moment?
I lied to my English teacher in front of my class that I had really bad cramps to get out of taking a test on Frankenstein. It’s more shameless than embarrassing, but it worked.

In which extracurricular activities did you participate?
I was captain of the varsity field hockey team and played varsity lacrosse. Those long bus rides home are where you get your “real” education.

Describe your school-age self in three words.
Always drinking Snapple.