Lindsay Northen made the most of her first solo visit to New York City in January by landing the role of Maria in an upcoming national tour of “The Sound of Music.”
Northen, a senior music theater major from Chapel Hill, N.C., beat out more than 350 other hopefuls at auditions held during a two-day stretch in New York. “I went up there with absolutely no idea that I would get the role,” said Northen, who spent two weeks preparing for the audition.
After arriving at 8:30 a.m., Northen waited until after 5 p.m. for her chance to audition with the show’s casting director and musical director. Two days later, she was called back for another round of auditions with six other finalists.
She didn’t find out she had landed the role until she returned home during the break between Winter Term and Spring semester. “In fact, I was on I-85 coming back to Elon from Chapel Hill when my cell phone rang,” Northen said. “When they told me I had earned the part, I had to pull over, I was so excited!”
Northen will begin rehearsals in September before the show, produced by Troika Entertainment, hits the road in mid-October. It’s a perfect situation she says, because she will be able to do some acting this summer to gear up for her part in “The Sound of Music.” She also sees the role as an opportunity to expand her career. “It’s the ideal transitional job, to do this national tour and then move to New York. And I feel so much more confident in my performance, and it gives me the feeling that I’m marketable as an actor in New York.”
Northen credits her Winter Term professor, Brian Turley, for allowing her to make up work she missed while remaining in New York for the callback audition. She also says she couldn’t have earned the role without the help of everyone in the music theatre program.
“Everybody here has been nothing but thrilled for me. The faculty make a huge effort to pay personal attention to you. If you take advantage of all of Elon’s resources, anything is possible.”
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