Senior Laura Hackfeld, a member of the top chorus in the school, Annandale Singers, and an avid performer in the local musical scene, hopes to pursue a career in musical theater after high school. She is currently finishing up college auditions to musical theater departments around the country and was recently accepted to the musical theater department at Millikin University. Beyond high school, she hopes to pursue her dreams of making it on Broadway.
Q: Tell me a little about what you want to pursue/your plans for pursuing your career after high school.
A: I want to go to college, and major in Musical Theatre from a great university. From there, I want to go to New York, and give Broadway a try!
Q: How do you see your career progressing after high school?
A: I think it will be a really fun, yet challenging transition from high school to college. Since I haven’t had any formal acting classes, or intense dance experience, it will be hard work to dive into rigorous training. But I’m really excited at the same time, because I’ll be doing what I love!
Q: If there was one show/part you could play, what would it be and why?
A: There is a really obscure show called The Last Five Years, which delves into a five year relationship between Jamie, an author, and an actress named Cathy. The show is completely made up of songs, with each of them telling their own version of their love for each other from front to back. Jamie starts the show with the beginning of their bumpy romance, and ends with their break up. But Cathy starts the show at the end of their marriage, and by the end, you see how she fell in love in the first place. It is a beautifully imagined piece of work, and I would love to be Cathy. She starts out so broken, but as the story ‘rewinds,’ you see her youth returning, and her passion for her future with Jamie, and it is stunning to see her transition.
Q: Who are your influences?
A: While it would be really easy to name famous performers as inspiration, I find more through the people I work with. There is so much to learn from watching other people, and since no one does anything exactly the same as someone else, I find that watching my fellow performers is the greatest push to keep going.
Q: Do you have any advice for someone looking to pursue the career you are interested in?
A: Don’t be afraid to break a sweat. Dream big, and work your butt off to get where you want.
