Student Blog: Meet Charlotte Tolva

Hi everyone, and welcome to my first post! My name is Charlotte Tolva and I am a freshman at Fordham University - Rose Hill. I am so excited to be writing for BroadwayWorld. I love all things performance, from singing to interpretive miming. For as long as I can remember I have been performing in some capacity. I was always humming a tune around the house or bopping from dance class to dance class with my younger cousin Adeline. My parents thought it was important to immerse me in the arts from a young age and for that, I am forever grateful. My first experience with real live theater was going to the Hamilton tour in Denver in 2018. My mind was immediately blown by how the story of a founding father could be told so profoundly through song and dance. My music replay that year was only 46 songs long because I only listened to the Hamilton album. After that, I threw myself completely into theater. I did it all four years in high school, completing six shows as an actress. I saw almost every tour production that came through Denver and I knew very early into my high school career that I wanted to go to college in New York so I could have access to all different kinds of performance art. That is the simple story of how I ended up at Fordham.

At Fordham, I am on track to become an English major. No one declares until sophomore year, so I still have time if I want to change my mind, but I think I am going to stick with English. Although I am not currently involved in the arts program here, I have many friends who are and it is definitely a presence around campus. There are acapella groups, theater troops, the university choir, band, and many other performance clubs - and that’s just on this campus! I love Fordham because of the amount of things to do on campus, but also the proximity to anything else you could possibly dream of doing. Of course, for me, that is mostly going to see shows. In my first semester at Fordham, I saw 15 shows, more than I had seen in the past two years combined. A campus next to the Metro North train and a Broadway-loving roommate who’s always down for a show is truly a lethal combination. When I post that I am at a show on my Instagram, I often get comments from my friends and family such as, “Do you actually go to school?” As I say to them, I’ll say here, yes I really do. I am taking five classes right now, I just got lucky that my schedule allows me to go to as many shows as I do. It has gotten to the point, though, that I will walk into certain classes and my teachers will ask what my next show is. I’m not entirely sure what that says about me, but it is a reputation I can certainly live with. 

If someone were to ask for a rapid-fire Broadway summary from me, they would be presented with the following:
First show: Hamilton

Favorite show: The Outsiders

Theater song that never fails to make me cry: “She Used to Be Mine” from Waitress

Random theater fact: The only solo I ever got in high school choir was “Satisfied” in Hamilton

A show I miss: Swept Away

The show I have seen the most: Hamilton (x4)

Favorite musical theater song at the moment: “Stay Gold” from The Outsiders

I am so excited to make BroadwayWorld part of my college story. Being able to write about theater is the culmination of two of my favorite things and I am so grateful to have this opportunity. As I start my journey here, I can’t help but think about what could become of my writing and theater career. Not to get too far ahead of myself, but I think this is the perfect stepping stone for me. I can’t wait to write and have an online journal of sorts for people to enjoy. Catch you in the next post!