Senior Nicole Harris has a lot on her mind. She is planning to major in musical theater in college, and her fall has been filled with college applications. Musical theater students, in addition to the normal applications, have to submit various vocal, dance, and acting videos for their portfolio. Other than theater, which Harris is a part of at both Huron and Pioneer High Schools, Harris plays field hockey, is a part of multiple auditioned vocal music groups, and co-runs Huron Students Demand Action.
“I also do lots of other political things, like I go to a lot of rallies,” Harris added.
Harris’s advice to students looking into theater in college is to get started early, and to choose audition materials that truly speak to them.
“In the end, the stuff that you want to use for college is the stuff that you feel the most passionate about,” she said.
Harris believes that theater is more than just the performance. She has talked to audience members after shows who had told her that it changed their life.
“I’m passionate about the response that theater can bring to someone,” she said. “It can change people.”
In Huron’s production of Rent in the 2024-25 school year, Harris played Maureen.
“Maureen was really neat because she was the first character that I have played where her circumstances are really real,” she said, “It’s the first one where you can really feel how much impact a show can have on people.”
In the summer before her senior year at Huron, Harris had the opportunity to attend a two month long theater program at Interlochen Center For the Arts. This program put on Beautiful: A Carole King Musical, and she earned the lead role of Carole King. There were people working at the program who were a part of the broadway production of Beautiful.
“Working with the people who worked on the show on Broadway, that’s the closest you’re ever going to be to a show.” she said.
Carole is Harris’s favorite role she has ever played. Carole’s character is more similar to her than most of the roles she usually plays, which presented a challenge to her.
“I do a lot of character acting where you have beats and you’re funny, and you take an accent or something,” Harris said. “Carole was the first one where you’re like, don’t do too much…Just make Carole you. Learning how to do that was really fun.
For multiple reasons, Harris is very excited for college. She is looking forward to performing in another high-production value show, like at Interlochen, and taking classes in areas of study that interest her. She knows musical theater is a hard industry to break into, so she is looking for a builder program that will set her up for success.
“I do love learning about a bunch of different things, “ she said, speaking about her education in college.
However, what she is most excited about is the theater education she will receive.
“Having a bunch of people that are as motivated to do what I like to do is just really magical,” she said.
In the future, Harris hopes to move to New York and be in professional shows or be a part of a touring company and eventually teach the next generation of aspiring musical theater actors.
