Dear Evan Hansen's Jared Kleinman is the mastermind partly responsible for the web of lies Evan Hansen weaves about being friends with his departed classmate, Connor Murphy. Equipped with digital savvy and verbal barbs, Jared provides the levity in the show, allowing audiences to view from a comedic standpoint the absurdity and heartbreak of Evan's situation. Actor Will Roland shares many things in common with his character-his humor, word play, quick wit-but one thing he thankfully no longer has in common is Jared's mean streak.
The stars shined brightly upon Northwestern's campus the weekend before last, as alums and icons of stage and screen returned to their alma mater for this Starry Night weekend.
Hello, Everyone! Its Lea writing after a long absence and an eventful time. So much has happened within a short amount of time. I'm recapping this from my last article to finals week so bear with me. Time to recap.
YOU ARE ENOUGH, a collection of three original one-acts, opens tonight. This will be the third time playwright Dylan Schifrin witnesses two of his works come to life. What makes it more phenomenal is that he is only a sophomore in college.
Life moves in circles. This sort of cliche isn't the message of Lobby Hero-rather, the play in itself is emblematic of the spirit of zeitgeist, the kind where unintended artistic choices turn out to be eerily prescient.
One great part of Northwestern is that it is a campus filled with people who have a plethora of stories to tell: lessons they've learned, tips and tricks they've found useful in surviving college, and crazy and exciting adventures they've been able to experience in their life.
For the next month or so, I'll be memorizing lines and living from rehearsal to rehearsal. I'll be collaborating with actors older than me, actors with countless years of experience under their belt. I'll be digging deep into three original one-acts and studying videos of goth girls, Sheldon Cooper, and Zooey Deschanel to help me step into the shoes of my respective characters. And if I'm honest, I'm a little nervous.
This Spring Break I was fortunate enough to travel to a city very close to my heart but one that I had only encountered through television and movies and books, most notably, the second season of Glee. This past week I traveled to New York City for the first time for seven full days and my eyes lit up with the eternal lights around me and the feeling of the Big Apple was so overwhelming that all I could do, upon seeing the city from my plane and standing in the middle of Times Square for the first time, was shed a couple tears.
With rehearsals well underway at the University of Texas, the illustrious team of 'Milton, MI' continues to persist in the delightfully challenging experience of creating a brand new play. I took a moment to chat with Sophia Quiroga, who portrays a struggling poet named Leah, and Dani Consoldane, who steps into the role of Amber, a sprightly college student. These two leading ladies shared insight on their journey of building the universes and personalities of Leah and Amber.
As an English major I learned about the craft of writing which provided a foundation for my playwriting. I spent four years in my undergrad analyzing the great American and British poets and prose writers. I got a B.A. in English Literature instead of Creative Writing, and at first after I graduated I was mad at myself for not taking more creative writing courses. That was until I realized how valuable the skills are that I gained from reading a bunch of literature. I wasn't sure what I was going to be doing with those skills after I graduated, but here I am four years later and using these skills everyday when I write.
This has been quite the exciting last week! I finally have solidified all of my summer plans and couldn't be more excited. I move home in the beginning of May - only a little over 6 weeks away, which is coming up so quickly - and I luckily will be able to be living at home for almost the whole summer.
Broadwayworld.com. Its Lea with Part 2 of my Middletown blog. I will show life as we close Middletown, life after Middletown and a very special trip to see a show in a very special place plus wonderful experiences.
I'm writing this post at 10:00PM with an hour left in Monday night Spring Awakening rehearsal. Today we had a music review since it's the first day back from spring break (which is why I didn't write a post last week; hear about me sitting on the couch watching Rupaul's Drag Race All Stars 3).
It's a custom for my troupe to announce the upcoming season at the end of the year banquet. The tension in the room was thick as everyone waited in anticipation. The season was always something that was announced last. And finally, my teacher walked on stage with a folded paper in her hands and announced the last production of my senior year was Sister Act: The Musical.
It was so nice to spend a week home sleeping in every day and catching up with friends and family, but I'm happy to be back in the swing of things here in Bloomington.
Hey! It's been a minute since I've written, but oh so much has happened in the last few weeks. From spring break adventures to being seen at my first (two!) Equity Chorus Calls and performances in between, March Madness is certainly underway.
The waiting, the waiting, THE WAITTTTINGGGGGGG. Shrek The Musical am I right? Best thing about being an actor is BY FAR the waiting. It's a never-ending cycle of dying, crying, having a sliver of hope, and then dying again.