When I was little, I started to sing. When I was 3 my grandfather screamed to the other room " She's singing Jesus loves me!" ok? " No! You don't get it shes singing on key!" so what was next? Choirs, voice recitals, voice lessons, the usual for a little song bird.
When I got into middle school, people told me to dance. Pop music was taking over, and all the good singers could dance... I was going to be a Britney spears people...
When I got to high school people said "You can study this in College, if you learn how to act too" It's musical theatre... So I went to the Duke Ellington School of the arts to learn the last piece... acting. ( It's more than memorizing lines appearantly)
So I went to NYU for a summer semester, and then came to American University for a 4 year degree program in Musical Theatre.weird right? me.... broadway? I've never had the Broadway dream, but I've loved dancing, singing, and acting...all seperatly.Anyways, VERY FEW people see that side of my voice... but recently silly loveable adorable mike litch posted all of our recitals onto YouTube so here ya go kids:
That's me and Joani in the dressing room before a dress run of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party
1930's flappers
Me backstage, with my dance partner Don mike, before my first College show, the World Premiere of " They Shoot Horses Don't they?" based on the Jane Fonda film. Again... 1920's /30's dancers. We toured this show to Russia.
Here's a fun one. I am the little boy on the right, in sword fight training.
I played Laertes in Shakespeare's Hamlet, thus took fencing on the set every night.
Or here, yes, I am a man. a 1930's man. [ defensivly] and I was a very pretty man.
Or finally.... in Hello, Dolly. Dancing with an umbrella with the amazing Kode Brown, in Charlotte, N.C.
That's me & some of my Duke girls with our director Ken Johnson at the Kennedy Center Awards.Our performance of " The Laramie Project" was nominated for 8 awards including Best Play, Best Actor, best Actress etc.... the list goes on. The medal on my neck is for my personal nomination.
Just a whole 'nother side of Hope leigh...
