Sutton Foster began with a desire to be on Broadway, and has now gone on to win two Tony Awards for her roles as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. She has also starred in Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein, and Shrek the Musical. Now she has gone from the stage to screen to play Michelle Simms in the ABC Family television series Bunheads. Sutton has also had a great relationship with my school, Ball State University, and students (like me!) got the chance to have a talk-balk with her during our last week of classes.
How did Sutton get involved with a college in the middle of the Midwest? Nine years ago, Sutton Foster spoke with senior performance majors at our annual New York Showcase, eventually visiting our campus in 2010. She loved how our school felt like a family and the close relationship between our faculty and students. Since then, she has co-directed The Drowsy Chaperone at our university and helped develop our original musical, The Circus in Winter, taking part in the stage reading at the NAMT Festival of New Musicals in October 2012. She received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from Ball State University for her work at our school.
Sutton Foster grew up in Troy, Michigan, where she started by dancing, singing and doing community theater. However, she didn’t know until high school that she wanted to purse being on stage. When talking about working in the theater, she said that it’s important to be someone people want to work with. You have to begin by climbing the ladder, always being on time and knowing your stuff. Work gets work, and most of the time the job you get is because of the job you had before. It’s all about the work ethic, professionalism, and respect.
When the opportunity for Bunheads came up, she knew it was the right time and move for her career. She described it as a new world, she felt like she was in school because she knew nothing. Sutton explained that the real difference between TV and theater is the pace of the day and how every day brought new challenges. On set, she says that she learns something new every day. Sutton asks everyone from camera men to writers about what they are doing, learning from her peers. Though it has been a big change moving to LA, Sutton said that she has never been happier, “busy but happy.”
The final words Sutton Foster had for us was to not make anything harder than it is. Sometimes we make something seem so hard or scary, when it’s just a song or monologue. Sutton described the opportunity we have right now in college as substantial, and to use it as a chance to lay the ground work and to continue growing up. “Allow things to be where they are at.”
Not only is Sutton Foster gifted and talented, but also so kind and down to earth. Ball State is so lucky to have Sutton, and so is the theater community. After conquering Broadway, Off-Broadway and television, I can’t wait to see what Sutton Foster does next, because at this point, let’s face it, anything goes.
Photo credit: BroadwayWorld.com