Bio: Heidi Hostetler is a 23 year-old Junior at Hollins University. She is double majoring in Theatre and Film/Photography. Before coming to college in 2006, Heidi traveled around the country with a band from Carpenter’s Tools International Music Ministries (CTI) as a singer for 2 years. In addition, she also spent 10 weeks in Hong Kong with CTI, and 4 weeks in Guadalajara, Mexico. Throughout her life, she has been involved with more than thirty different educational and community theater pieces. This past January, she spent the month as a production intern at the Cleveland Playhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating in May of 2010, she plans to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Film.

How did you come to Roanoke?
I am a junior at Hollins University, so I first came to Roanoke 3 years ago to start college.

Why Theatre?
Honestly… because I’ve never been able to do anything else. I’ve been doing Theatre since I was in third grade, when I was cast as a mouse in our community theatre production of Cinderella. I love audiences, and I love story telling. Where else would I work?

How did you get involved in Studio Roanoke?
Well, having Todd Ristau as a teacher helped a lot. Being an undergraduate Theatre major at a nearby college didn’t hurt either.

What’s the best theatre experience you’ve had?
Last spring I was cast as the Radio in Caroline, or Change at Hollins University. I have never been involved in a more powerful piece of theatre… and it was pretty incredible to be part of such an incredible cast. Second to that was sitting next to my non-theatre going, 24 year-old brother at Spring Awakening on Broadway, and watching him really experience theatre for the first time in his life.

The worst?
Any high school production of a Greek Tragedy. Both the ones I was in, and the ones I was audience for. Always a bad idea. Teenagers can barely figure out their own tragedies… much less put someone else’s on stage. I’d rather watch a clan of squirrels butcher High School Musical than sit through a production of Antigone.

What’s your favorite thing about Studio Roanoke?
he potential for crossover with Hollins University Theatre. Because we are a smaller department, we rarely put on more than 2 shows a year. Studio Roanoke could more than double the amount of shows we can be a part of. It was also expose us to works that we would probably never encounter at Hollins.

Least favorite?
My picture isn’t in the lobby. Yet.

If you could choose any play at any theatre, what would you most like to work on?
As a technician, I would want to work on Spring Awakening.
As an Actor, I would love to work at Second City in Chicago.
As a singer, I would LOVE to belt out Elphaba’s songs in Wicked.

What do you hope people say about you?
I hope people talk about my incredible good looks, my vast wealth, and all of my potential Tony Awards.

What do you think we say about you?
I imagine people probably talk about the fact that I am always busy… but never to busy to talk. Or to eat. And the fact that I am short… somehow that always comes up.

What we actually think of Heidi is…
We think that Heidi is simply wonderful--the only frustrating thing about her is that she is so talented and does so many things so well that she is (in fact) always busy. She is as terrific backstage as she is on stage, and her acting is only matched by her singing. We're thrilled to discover that she had a few weeks free in April so that she could both appear in Biology Lesson and help us with the lights for the same show...that is, if we get a light grid and instruments by then!

Heidi recently toured with Todd and Ken in a production of Coming to Jamestowne: The First Chapter, which was a commissioned work for Young Audiences of Virginia that has been presented in primary schools throughout the state of Virginia.

We're always looking for volunteers. If you would like to get involved, just stop by and tell us! If you aren't in the neighborhood, drop us a line at 540-343-3054 to tell us you want to help and we'll suggest some ways to get you started. Or, you can email us at info@studioroanoke.org.