COLLEGIATE THEATRICS: Belmont University's Lauren Knoop

As 2015 rolls onward, there's a new semester of classes and productions set to challenge multitudes of young actors all over the country as some of the best and brightest continue their journey toward stardom. Nashville colleges and universities are no different, virtually teeming with outstanding young talents plying their trade and honing their skills on stages both academic and local.

Lauren Knoop, a Nashville native, is currently a senior at Belmont University, pursuing her BFA degree in theatre performance in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the university that has helped to transform the term "academic theater" into something far more substantial than it once may have been considered. A 2013 First Night Most Promising Actor, Lauren has her eyes set squarely on her prize: May 2015 graduation.

Some of her most recent credits include playing Bodey in Tennessee Williams' A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur, Clytemnestra in The Flies by Jean Paul Sartre, and Matt Damon in Matt & Ben by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers, the role she performed in the 2013 Most Promising Actor Showcase.

"This coming April, I will be completing my collegiate career as I take on the role of Hester Swane from By the Bog of Cats by the Irish playwright Marina Carr," she explains.

Today, we're delighted to focus our Collegiate Theatrics spotlight on Lauren Knoop, to introduce you to one of Nashville's finest...

How's your college theater career going? Has it lived up to its advance hype? I have had a pretty wonderful college career thus far. And I would say that it has not only lived up to the hype, but has surpassed it. Being a member of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Belmont, (separate from the Music Theatre Department) has given me countless opportunities to expand my knowledge in all aspects of theatre. I have had the pleasure of taking on some pretty challenging and incredible roles and I constantly feel stretched and challenged in the classes I take at Belmont. I knew theatre was hard work before I came to college, but now I know the extent of that hard work. I think I have really grown as a person and now have wonderful training in multiple aspects of theatre and a solid work ethic, which will help me upon graduation. I know it doesn't get easier after graduation, and Belmont has well-prepared me for that.

What's your favorite part of studying at your school? The part of the training program at Belmont that I find to be most useful is that as a BFA, you are required to dip your toes into other aspects of theatre. I can now build costumes, I have costume designed an Actor's Bridge collaboration with Belmont, and have designed sound and acted in the recent production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Along with that, I would say that my favorite part of my studies has been implementing the training and knowledge from the classroom into staged roles. It has been incredible to have moments where it all clicks together and results in a discovery that makes all the tough parts of the training worth it.

Have your future plans changed since your college experiences? Not entirely. I initially came into the program as a Theatre Education major with the intent to eventually teach acting. I then realized that the major I was in did not require me to take as many studio classes as I wanted. It was then that I switched to a BFA Performance major, with the hope that I would learn and put into practice as much as I could before attempting to focus on teaching others how to do the same. The saying, "those who can, do; those who can't, teach" has always aggravated me and even more so when I saw that many of my professors have not stopped "doing." It was then that I decided I wanted to continue my studies at some point after graduation and go to graduate school, with the hopes of eventually being a college acting professor. I'm not exactly sure when that will happen. I plan on looking for professional work before grad school, but plans change all the time, so we shall see.

What collegiate theatrical moment looms largest in your mind? I was cast as the character of Bodey in two seniors' capstone show, A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur by Tennessee Williams. The director of the piece was CJ Tucker, and I must say, being in that show with the incredible cast and that director was probably the most rewarding piece of theatre I have ever participated in. There were so many moments during the rehearsal process of that show where I just stopped and said, "this is why I love theatre so much." I was also involved in a Repertory Theatre Company at Belmont that toured and performed a children's piece to elementary schools and a Shakespeare workshop to high schools. It was through my experiences with Belmont Rep that I stopped and said, "This is why theatre is important, especially for the imaginations and creativity of kids."

What advice would you offer to high school students considering making the plunge? I would say "go for it!" I really believe that being a true theatre artist is one of the most rewarding things a person can do. And on top of that, in order to be a fully formed theatre artist, your education is not limited to things that happen on the stage. I believe acting is, in many ways, a study of humanity and why we do the things we do. There will be a lot of changes and hardships that come your way, but as long as you adapt to the changes and grow from the hardships, you will do just fine. I would also, and more importantly, say that it is crucial to remind yourself why you want to be a theatre artist, and make sure that reason fulfills your purpose in life.

Pictured at top: Lauren Knoop (at right) as Bodey from A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur, with Ashley Joye (at left) - photograph by Rick Malkin

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