Meet the Next On Stage Top 5: Amaya Hardin

Voting has officially closed for the remianing contestest of Next On Stage! In just one day, we will find out which three students in both the high schoool and college age groups will move on to the finale on January 14, 2024. 

Who will make the Top 3? You'll have to tune in tomorrow, December 22 (7pm and 9pm ET) to find out! Until then, we are getting to know the students one by one. Meet College contestant Amaya Hardin from Maumelle, Arkansas.

What do you love the most about performing?

This was a difficult question, but I came to a somewhat cohesive answer: Performing is simultaneously an escape from my current situations while also forcing me to cope with certain emotions that I may not have explored in my real life. It is both an empathetic experience and a form of therapy. It is passion and pain. It is my escape and my reality.

Is there a theatre educator who has had a big impact on you as a performer?

My middle and high school drama teacher Sheridan Posey! She has been one of my biggest supporters for over eight or nine years, so one little paragraph isn’t enough to describe how much she has helped me on my theatre journey! I would not be as far as I am now without her.

Is there a piece of advice that the judges have given so far that has especially stuck with you?

Don’t be afraid to be UGLY! I always get self-conscious after I perform because I make such odd faces when I act and rarely ever look “pretty” in show pictures. So it is nice to know that looking good isn’t a factor I should worry about.

Share a fun fact about yourself! 

In the second wave of COVID-19 in the summer of 2022, I was in Shrek the Musical. Because of COVID rates within the cast, I went from covering around four roles to covering about ten or eleven (including Donkey and Dragon!)

Watch Amaya's performances so far...

Week 4:

Week 3: 

Week 2:

Week 1: