Student Spotlight: Sara Bartoszek

1. How old are you?

14

2. What are the activities you do at Garden Street?

Some of the activities I do at garden street are tap, jazz, ballet, voice lessons, and I am a member of the musical theater competition team.

3. What made you join the classes?

Well I remember I was just taking voice lessons with Mari because I was always singing and dreamed of being on Broadway so I thought that was the first step. Then I saw a sign for auditions for Hoboken Tale and thought it could be cool. Then I heard about the competition team and wanted to join because I would take any opportunity to perform and I loved it. I've been doing it for 3 years now and last year decided to start dance.

4. What is your favorite class to take and why?

That's a hard decision between my voice lessons with Neal and Mari or my tap classes with Tabatha. So let's call it a tie.

5. What is the hardest part about musical theater?

I think the hardest part of musical theater is forgiving yourself. Your performance isn't always going to be perfect or go exactly as you want it to and that's okay. At some point You're voice is going to crack and you'll fall out of that turn and you need to learn that you're human and this a reason to work harder and do it better next time.

6. What is your favorite thing about being on the competition team at Garden Street?

My favorite thing about being on the competition team is how close we all are. We always hang out together and mess around between classes and we all just really enjoy being together.I love all my team mates and love performing with them.

7. Do you have a favorite performance memory?

My favorite performance memory was when I was doing Les Miserables over the summer and it was closing night and we had all worked so hard and we were all waiting to go onstage for the epilogue and it hit us that we weren't going to see each other for another year. And we all started crying onstage and holding hands and singing the song it was the only time I've ever cried leaving a cast I just loved that cast and the musical. I'll never forget that.

8. What activities do you do outside of Garden Street?

I don't really do a lot of things outside garden street. I'm constantly going to rehearsal so I don't really have time but I am some shows at my school.

9. What advice would you give to kids looking to get into performing?

As a person that gets nervous before performing this is the best advice I've ever received. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself and do your best. Your best now may not be your best usually but right now do the best you could possibly do. Leave the stage saying there is nothing else I could have possibly put into that performance and after that it's not longer up to you. It's up to the audience or the casting director it's out of your hands. Also don't compare yourself to anyone worry about yourself and always always be kind no matter what they do in the show they are apart of making it happen and you need to respect that.

10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully still doing what I love and doing it professionally. Also I'd like to teach musical theater. I love working with kids and I'd like to share what someone who really inspires me (Lisa Capps) has taught me with other people.

11. What are your dream roles?

Ellen (Miss Saigon) Clara(Light in the Piazza) Trina (Falsettos) Fantine(Les Mis) Christine(Phantom) and so so so many more I'm a huge nerd.

12. Fun Fact: One time I saw Bernadette Peters walking out the stage door at falsettos with Joel Grey and I almost fainted. As I have mentioned before I'm am Broadway nerd.