Emma Schuld '20 Kicks off Her Professional Career

Emma Schuld '20 has been involved with theater both at CDH and in the community throughout her high school years, and is now entering her post-graduation life with a professional role. Her story shows the importance of perseverance and relationships in achieving your goals.

 

Schuld begins her story when she earned the Spotlight Education Award for "Outstanding Performance by and Actor in a Leading Role" early in her high school career, and was then connected to The Legacy Project as a sophomore.

 

The Legacy Project was a group of about 15 students and 6 mentors who met once a month to discuss the importance of diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality in theater.

 

"As a 15-year-old, I didn’t really understand what I had in front of me, but now I realize that that program changed my life," she said. "All of the mentors and students were people of color, LGBTQ+, or both! Over the span of the year, I became incredibly close with my mentors and created unbreakable bonds with my fellow students."

 

Unfortunately, The Legacy Project ended in 2018, the same year it was founded. Schuld stayed in touch with Kelli Foster Warder, the program's advisor, as she took a position as Director of Education and Producing Associate at the Ordway and left Spotlight.

 

Through Junior year, Schuld remained heavily involved with Spotlight, and during the summer she was asked to join a group of student performers for a one-night show called Summer in the City. Summer in the City is an annual event where the Hennepin Theatre Trust thanks its donors with help from other businesses in the neighborhood. While working on this project, she met local music director and vocal coach Andy Kust.

 

"Andy is BRILLIANT," Schuld said. "He became my vocal/audition coach! I had never had a coach before, so he changed everything for me. He helped me through the college audition and prescreen processes, and I owe a lot of my current success to his methodology."

 

In December 2019, Warder reached out to connect her with a closed audition notice for a show called ‘Polkadots: the Cool Kids Musical!‘ at the Ordway! Schuld submitted recordings, videos, her headshot, resume, and conflicts for review.

 

On March 7, she was cast as the leading role of Lily Polkadot, her first professional credit. The show is a modern retelling of the Ruby Bridges story, except instead of skin color, it uses shapes. 8-year-old Lily moves to a town called Rockaway and is the first girl in her school with polkadots on her skin. She must navigate the first few weeks of school, facing bullies, making friends, and changing minds.

 

"The show is meant for a cast of all people of color, so I was honored that such an important show could be my first professional credit," Schuld said. "As the production team was announced, I realized how the world had worked in my favor. Kelli, my wonderful friend and mentor formerly from Spotlight, was producing. Andy, my coach, was music directing. Britta, who’s husband took my professional headshots, was mentoring! Talk about a small world!"

 

Unforunately, once COVID-19 hit, Polkadots was postponed and 90% of the Ordway staff was let go. In hopes to keep promises made to artists, Schuld and about 25 other local professionals were hired on as Teaching Artists!

 

Each week, she receives an assignment from the wonderful Chloe Chambers to film and send over for editing. If you visit the Ordway Education YouTube page, Ordway Education on FaceBook, or look up #OrdwayEducation, chances are you can find her hanging out somewhere! Check out one of her favorite early projects, a collaborative dance project with the other Teaching Artists. 

 

"It’s been a crazy few months, and this opportunity has been a kicking off point for other projects around the Twin Cities that I cannot be more excited to get working on," Schuld said. "Any good theater teacher will tell you, networking is HALF of performing. And it’s TRUE! I would not have had this amazing opportunity without the relationships I had forged from prior experiences."

 

Schuld plans to attend the University of Minnesota Guthrie Actor Training Program in the fall. Congratulations!