It took the 10-year-old about three seconds to die and, as she did, she fainted onto a bench, her long blond hair flowing beside her as she slumped into a drug-induced death.

And then she won the contest.

Nadia Cook-Loshilov, of Bethel Park, and a fifth-grader at Neil Armstrong Middle School, portrayed Juliet during her famous death scene to rave reviews, winning her first prize in the grades four through seven monologue division of the Pittsburgh Public Theater's 11th annual Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest Showcase last month.

She chose the scene, Act Four, Scene Three, of "Romeo and Juliet," because: "I felt that it has many ups and downs. [Juliet] was nervous at first. She got very upset. It was very fun to play with those emotions," Nadia said during an interview in her home as her toddler brother and dog scampered around the room.

"Me and my mom, we discussed 'Romeo and Juliet' and I tried to put on Juliet's shoes," she said, explaining how she got into character. "I just tried to become Juliet and that helped me a lot."

Nadia has been acting since she was 4 and takes classes in hopes of becoming a triple threat, singer, dancer and actor. Her resume is filled and includes such roles as Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" for Theatre Works, Veruca in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for Little Lake Theatre and various modeling jobs.

Acting is what she wants to do with her life and she hopes to get accepted to The Juilliard School in New York City.

"I think I would like to do a little bit of a mix," she said wistfully. "I'd like to maybe try Broadway and try some movies."

But does she have the stomach to handle rejection? After all, don't working actors hear "No thanks" more often than "You're hired?" How would she handle getting turned down for her dream role?

"I think I would be a bit upset at first, but maybe another company will be doing that same audition and I'll get it then," she said.

The Shakespeare competition, at O'Reilly Theater, Downtown, featured 950 pupils from 110 schools in southwestern Pennsylvania. For her win, she got free tickets to Pittsburgh Public Theater shows and a hardbound volume of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare."

And yes, she was nervous before she went on, but a few paces backstage and a couple of times through the lines and she was fine.

She practices all the time. "I can spend up to one hour just working on a couple of lines," she said. Shakespeare is particularly tough because "You can't mess up a word. If you mess up a word, the whole thing is going to be messed up," she said.

Nadia gets her love of the theater from her mom, Astrid Cook, who studied theater at the London Academy of Dramatic Arts, but later decided showbiz wasn't for her. But she believes her daughter has what it takes. Cook requires her daughter to maintain a straight-A average to remain active in theater. She will probably spend the summer at acting camps and start thinking about where she wants to attend high school, possibly somewhere like the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Homewood.

The young performer's father is Pittsburgh lawyer Alex Loshilov.

Her favorite dramas run the gamut of the classic shows.

"I really like 'Les Miserables.' I really like the music to it and I really like the play, too," she said. "And even though the main character dies in the end, I really like it." She also enjoys "The Secret Garden" and "Annie."

Her idol is Johnny Depp and she would love to someday work for Peter Jackson, who directed the "Lord of the Rings" films.

Nadia sparkles as she talks about her future, looking much like she could be a relative of child actress Dakota Fanning.

Next up for her is a role in "Nine Days in the Sun" for Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Co., April 22 through May 15 at the company's Penn Avenue theater, where she'll play Girl.

The play, written by Mark Clayton Southers, the company's co-artistic director, is a science fiction story about race relations, Director Corey Rieger said.

For ticket information, call 412-687-4686.