On his day off, Broadway talent Aaron Lazar will trade the towering steel structures of busy New York for the flower-filled lanes of Duke.
It will be the Trinity ’98 grad’s first time back at his alma mater since his five-year reunion. In addition to spending time with former friends and professors and stopping to take in the welcome warm weather, he will also be giving a theater master class open to everyone.
The master class, to take place Monday evening, is a chance for serious theater students to get one-on-one time with an industry talent at the pinnacle of his profession. Lazar will share the expertise and insight he has gained from his experiences in the Mecca of theater with students who may be considering following in his footsteps.
After graduating from Duke, Lazar went on to study at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Over the past 10 years, he has been a part of numerous musicals including Les Miserables, South Pacific and currently A Little Night Music.
“The best thing has been exploring and working with people across the world, never knowing when the phone will ring and who will be on the other end,” Lazar said.
In fact, there were plans to bring Lazar to Duke last semester, although they had to be scrapped when he got a call from the producers of A Little Night Music. In the play, Lazar assumes the role of Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm alongside Broadway newcomer Catherine Zeta Jones and the venerable Angela Lansbury, who is 84.
“I like characters that are well written, and I generally play ‘privileged’ characters—often aristocrats and such,” Lazar said.
It is indeed a privilege to have Lazar come to Duke. Contrary to some popular belief, the lives of professional Broadway actors and actresses are extremely busy.
Eight shows a week, six days a week, three hours a show. Take into account the rehearsals and pre-show preparations and you easily see a workload total of more than 40 hours a week.
But it wasn’t Lazar’s busy schedule that was keeping him from coming to Duke—it was finances. Senior Margaret Skoglund is one of the people most responsible for Lazar’s visit.
“It was like torture trying to find funds,” Skoglund said. “But eventually things fell into place and we were able to agree on a date and get the backing of a lot of interested and supportive people and organizations.”
Skoglund first met Lazar last summer in a small New York City diner. She is interested in one day becoming a theater producer, the person responsible for managing industry talents like Lazar.
“By the end of our meal we were talking about Aaron’s career and my own interests,” she said. “Aaron mentioned some work he was doing with a friend and The Americana Project and a ‘meet and greet’ turned into an internship opportunity.”
(The Americana Project is an educational documentary venture that explores the meaning of America from several different perspectives. In an effort to help his friend, the creative mind behind the project, Lazar started a company to distribute films like those featured by The Americana Project.)
One of the many things to have come from that internship is Lazar’s visit to Duke next week. It is sure to be a life-changing event for some people—on the stage and in the audience. People in their college years are at a critical point in their development when they must consider making enduring commitments. One of those commitments is to a career.
Lazar came to Duke on a scholarship for singing with the intention of one day going to medical school. Like so many Dukies, he found that he had other interests outside of medicine.
Jody McAuliffe, professor of the practice of theater studies at Duke, was one of the professors who worked to nurture Lazar’s talent while he was studying in the Music Department.
“He was a great student and warm person,” McAuliffe said. “He has become a great resource and role model and I am glad that he is coming to share his experiences.”
Lazar’s talent was apparent in his acting as an undergraduate, she added. He was cast in several campus productions while at Duke, most notably as Orpheus in Orpheus Descending. The play was so successful that it was performed at the Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans.
Many of the students who will work with Lazar in his master class have had stage experiences like his while at Duke. Lazar looks to guide them on the road to a fulfilling career of self-discovery.
“I enjoy exploring each character and the creative experience, but more than anything else I always find that I walk away from a role having learned something about myself,” Lazar said.
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