Photography courtesy of the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation
At only 22, actress Taylor Louderman has skyrocketed from small-town Missouri theater to Broadway. During her high-school years, she traveled back and forth from Bourbon, Mo., to St. Louis, starring in productions at local high schools, Stages St. Louis, and The Muny. She recently wrapped up her run on Broadway as Campbell, the head cheerleader in Bring it On, and this weekend, she’ll be in St. Louis judging the final round of the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation’s St. Louis Teen Talent Competition. We asked her about her career, what’s next, and the importance of recognizing teen talent.
How did you get from Bourbon to Broadway? There really wasn’t a lot for me to do in Bourbon. It’s a very small town. The cattle population exceeds the human population. I would watch movies, especially musicals, over and over again. My dad heard about a theater over in Rolla, the Ozark Actors Theatre, which is a very tiny professional theater, and they were doing Annie in the summer of my fourth-grade year. My parents took me to audition, and I already knew the songs, since I had watched the movie so many times, and I ended up getting the part of Annie, so I think that’s when my parents realized acting was something I really liked to do. With their support, I started getting involved in St. Louis community theater. Then, I got into the University of Michigan, and after my sophomore year, I auditioned for Bring it On.
Tell me more about your experiences in the St. Louis theater scene. I did a lot of community theater in various areas. I did a show at Marquette High School one summer. I did one at MICDS, a few at CBC. I just kind of bopped around to the places that were doing the shows that I liked the most. I also did Muny Teens and a couple shows at The Muny. I was involved in TeamSTAGES, which then allowed me to be in a few shows in their summer season. I took voice lessons from Lisa Campbell, who works with Stages St. Louis. My senior year of high school I would go to school, go to soccer practice, and then right at 5:30 p.m. I would drive to St. Louis, which is about 60 or 70 miles from Bourbon. I would do that every day or every other day. I don’t see it as being too serious—it was what I enjoyed doing.
Now that you’ve been in the New York theater scene, how does St. Louis stack up nationally? I remember going to the University of Michigan, which has the best musical theater program in the country, worrying how behind I might be, because I figured all these kids from New York and L.A. would have so much experience, but that really wasn’t the case. I say this with complete humility, but I was just fine, if not better, because of what I had in St. Louis. In New York and L.A., kids don’t get the opportunity to work with professionals—they usually are kind of on their own. Especially at The Muny, being a teen or a kid, every once in a while, you get to just sit and talk to the adults. I used those opportunities to ask questions about the business, schools, and all of that. Looking back, St. Louis has such a great theater community. It’s really big for the size of the city. I’m so proud of what it has to offer people of all ages.
At such a young age, you’ve already been on Broadway. What are some of your goals now? I think I just want to be happy and continue doing work that makes me happy. There’s some work where it’s all about money, and one joy of mine is coming home and seeing theater here, because people do it because they love it and are passionate about it. Sometimes in New York, it becomes about the money and you lose the passion. I want to dabble in TV and film, because I haven’t really done a lot there.
Do you have an ideal character that you like to play? I really enjoy silly characters. I played Hope in Urinetown in high school, and that’s a role I would really love to redo. I also enjoyed Aida, playing Amneris, who has a little bit of a comedic role. I really love the ingénue with a silly kick to it. I would love it if they made Tangled into a musical, but Disney hasn’t gotten to that yet. There’s a Mean Girls musical in the works now too, and that could be fun.
What’s next for you? Right now, I’m doing a lot of readings and workshops for shows that are trying to make it. I’m also auditioning and taking classes. At the end of the summer I’ll be in Kansas City at the Starlight Theater playing Ariel in Footloose. I’m doing things here and there and finessing my skills a bit more.
How did you get involved in the teen talent competition? Mike Isaacson, the executive producer of The Muny, was also a producer on Bring it On, and he’s been involved in the competition. He threw my name out there to be a celebrity judge, so they reached out to me to do it.
Why do you think it’s important to recognize teen talent? As a teenager, you’re so vulnerable. I think a lot of kids are afraid to take that chance to put themselves out there and perform. We neglect them in the professional world because we have to make money sometimes, so it’s not about the experience and learning and growth. I think that’s why it’s so important to give them this opportunity. They get to work with Ben Nordstrom, who’s the emcee, and they also get to work one-on-one with a choreographer and a director from New York.
What are some of the qualities you’ll be looking for in the finalists? There are a lot of different talents. We’ve got a whistler, a rapper, a ballerina, so I think the main thing I’ll be looking for with them is the passion behind telling a story. The more passion you have, the more you can reach an audience, and that’s what it’s all about when you’re performing. I’ll also want to make sure they’re having fun and see that they’ve listened to the feedback that they’ve gotten. In the preliminaries, the judges can give them a little bit of criticism, and we hope that they’ll take that and run with it.
What advice would you give to the finalists who are trying to make it into the entertainment industry? It sounds cliché, but I’d say work hard and believe in yourself. You have to work really hard, be committed, put in a lot of time, and be prepared. And with all of that, you have to have confidence.
