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Cami Hancock New York

There’s No Business like Show Business: The Professional Side of Theatre

As I wrote about in my last post, I fell in love with acting at age six, and it quickly became my main passion in life. While I had dreamed of a life onstage for a long time, towards the end of high school, that dream didn’t seem possible for multiple factors—the main one being my health problems that made it difficult for me to act on stage without feeling dizzy. With that, any hope I had of being a professional actor was gone, so I turned my attention towards my other aspiration: teaching.

I had wanted to be a teacher since I was in second grade. The impact that my teachers have had on my life is immeasurable, and I wanted the chance to have that impact on my own students. Entering college, I was an elementary education/RCAH double major. I had no doubts that by the time I graduated in four years, I would be on the path to becoming an elementary school teacher. That just shows that your life’s path can never be predicted. While I knew I would enjoy being a teacher, my other passion, theatre, refused to be ignored.

In the fall of my freshman year at MSU, I joined a student group called the Wharton Center Student Marketing Organization (WCSMO). It’s a student group that markets the Broadway and performing arts shows that come to Wharton Center to MSU students. I joined the club simply because I thought it would give me a chance to talk about Broadway shows with others. I learned that WCSMO did an annual marketing retreat to New York City during spring break where they meet with different theatre marketing agencies. I instantly knew that I wanted to go, mainly because I love the city, and it would give me a chance to see Broadway shows. I was not prepared for the greater effect that the trip would have on me.

Three young women pose for a photo on a New York street.
My roommates and I on the 2019 retreat

On that trip, I got to learn from many executives who worked on Broadway, including marketing/PR directors, company managers, producers, and theater owners. I became completely fascinated by these jobs that I previously had no clue existed. It was then that I realized this is what I wanted to do with my life. About a week after I got home from the trip, I called my mom with the decision that I had been toiling with repeatedly: I told her I would be dropping my education major and instead focusing on pursuing the professional side of theatre. To my shock, she was not at all surprised. She expected that this call was coming, and thankfully she supported my decision.

It’s now two years later, and I’m going strong in pursuing a career on the professional side of theatre. RCAH allows me to explore my main passions—theatre, writing, and social justice—while giving me exposure to other topics as well. I added an Arts and Cultural Management minor, and I am working at the Wharton Center as a marketing intern for their Broadway series. In addition, this past year I served as WCSMO’s treasurer, which means I was in charge of co-planning the NYC marketing retreat. I led a group of 15 students, and we met with agencies such as Disney Theatrical and The Broadway League. I also got to job shadow employees from Broadway.com and New York City Center. It was an awesome experience, and I will be co-planning the trip again in this coming year.

Although my career plans have changed, I’m hopeful that I can still positively impact others while working in the theatre. I wholeheartedly believe in the powers of theatre, and through my career, I will get to share theatre’s capabilities of transforming and healing the lives of people with audiences. My goal is to move to New York City after graduation, and either market or write about Broadway shows. Through my studies, my internship at Wharton Center, and my leadership position with WCSMO, I’m actively working towards this goal every day, and I’m not stopping until I get there.

A diverse group of young women and two men stand for a photo in a restaurant.
The 2019 WCSMO retreat

A side note—on Thursday I’ll be headed to New York City for a week, so my next blog post won’t be until after I get back. The good news is I’ll be posting fun NYC content once I return!

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Cami Hancock

How I Fell in Love with Theatre

At age five, I saw my older cousin (and my idol) Lisa act in a play at a local children’s theater. From that moment on, I begged my parents to let me audition for a show. The minimum age to audition was six, so it wasn’t until the following summer that I finally got my chance.

Although I had spent all those months eagerly anticipating my big break, I was a shy kid and went mute at the audition. Literally, I refused to speak, and I stared at the ground the entire time. The director was giving confused looks at my mom, probably presuming that she was a stage mom and had forced me to be there. By some miracle, I was still cast. The show was Raggedy Ann and Andy at Lansing’s All-of-Us Express Children’s Theater, and I was cast as a witch’s minion.

Raggedy Ann and Andy, 2005

Despite having no lines, I was on cloud nine throughout the entire process of the show. I eagerly awaited the next time I’d get to go to rehearsal, and I felt exhilarated once the show finally started playing to audiences. On the last day of the show, my mom and I were walking out of the theater to go to our car. I didn’t know she had been thinking, I’m glad we won’t have to do this again, when I turned to her and asked, “Mom, when can I act again?” That’s when she knew I had caught the acting bug, and I’ve never been able to get rid of it since.

It’s now 14 years later, and I’ve acted in 30 productions, as well as worked on the crew for at least a dozen more. I’ve acted in both plays and musicals, ranging in everything from The Wizard of Oz to Annie to Little Women to Shrek the Musical. Luckily, I’ve come a long way from refusing to speak at auditions. Acting isn’t just something I enjoy, it’s something that changed my life. When I first began acting, I was a painfully shy kid. In school I wouldn’t talk to anyone and I was extremely unsure of myself. Once I started acting, everything changed. Acting gave me a purpose in life. It gave me something to wake up excited for every day. Most importantly, it has given me the confidence to live life as my most authentic self. Although I’m still an introvert, being onstage is where I come alive and feel most like myself.

  • Annie, 2011
  • The Little Mermaid, 2014

I’m extremely lucky that I grew up with so much exposure to theatre. Although All-of-Us Express was particularly crucial in my discovery of myself and my love of theatre, Lansing is saturated with many community and professional theaters. Growing up doing theatre has taught me invaluable life skills, including how to work as part of a team and how to be accountable, as well as given me lifelong friends. Acting allows you the chance to fully embody the life of another character, and because of that, I think acting is largely responsible for my empathy for others.

I don’t like to imagine where I would be if I hadn’t discovered theatre. I believe theatre is the closest thing our world has to magic. I consider it to be the great love of my life, and I believe it will always remain that way. Although I no longer what to be a professional actress, theatre will always be a large part of my life. I now want to work on the professional side of theatre, in either marketing, writing, or some area I’m yet to discover, and continue to act as a hobby. I am eternally grateful for the effect theatre has had on me, and that it has made me the person I am today.

Parade, 2014
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Cami Hancock New York

A Very Hamilton Weekend

This weekend I travelled to Chicago to visit Hamilton: The Exhibition, a new museum that recently opened on Chicago’s Northerly Island. Designed by David Korins, the set designer for Hamilton on Broadway, the museum has 18 visually stunning rooms that immerse you in the life of Alexander Hamilton and the founding of America. The exhibit begins with Hamilton’s life in the Caribbean, works its way through Hamilton fighting in the Revolutionary War, serving as Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury during his presidency, and finishes with how his wife, Eliza, worked furiously to keep his legacy alive after his death. In addition, the entire exhibit is narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, and Chris Jackson, three actors from the original Broadway cast.

Although the exhibit focuses more on the historical events of Hamilton’s life than the musical, it still incorporates the musical by explaining where historical facts were altered in order to better fit. For example: No, Hamilton did not actually punch the bursar at Princeton, it just happened to rhyme very well the words “Burr, Sir.” The presence of the musical was also alive because of the use of the musical’s quotes in each room, as well as the overall ambiance of Korins’ designs. The exhibit even had a few interactive elements, such as an economic depression carnival game and a 3D performance of the Hamilton Puerto Rico cast performing the opening number, “Alexander Hamilton.” I had no clue what to expect going into the exhibit, but I was very impressed. I would highly recommend the exhibit to both those interested in history and fans of the musical. It is the most visually interesting museum I’ve ever been to, so it’s definitely worth making a trip to Chicago to see it.

On Friday, I had the awesome opportunity to meet with John Gilmour, the director of communications and press for Hamilton in Chicago and Hamilton’s three national tours. John is an MSU alum, former Wharton Center intern like me, and founder of the Wharton Center Student Marketing Organization (WCSMO), the student group I’m heavily involved with. We met up at a coffee shop on the north side of Chicago, and he shared his professional journey with me. I learned that he came into contact with Laura Matalon, the founder of Allied Live Marketing, while he was working at Wharton Center, and that he moved to Chicago immediately after graduation with hopes of working at her company. He’s now been working for Allied Live for almost 13 years, and he’s worked on a variety of shows, including In the Heights, Mamma Mia, The Book of Mormon, and now Hamilton.

I had an amazing time getting to learn from John, and I’m so glad he took the time to meet with me. Like me, he grew up with a passion for theatre, and he entered MSU with a totally different career path in mind before switching to theatre marketing. He said that his time interning at Wharton Center gave him the most preparation for his career, and it inspired me to see an MSU and WCSMO alum being so successful, living in a big city, and working at a job he loves. It gave me a lot of hope that I will be doing similar things in just a few years.

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Cami Hancock

How Lucky We Are to Be Alive in the Age of Hamilton

My queen Michelle Obama once referred to Hamilton as, “the best piece of art in any form that I have ever seen in my life.” I would have to agree with her.

Hamilton holds a special place in my heart. I first became familiar with Hamilton back in the fall of 2015, when I was a junior in high school. I was inspired by the fact that Hamilton surpassed all limits. It achieved the unimaginable by making American history understandable and accessible, all while creating deeply human, multifaceted roles for people of color. It was truly making history.

Seeing Hamilton on Broadway.

Later that same year, I would end up getting diagnosed with a chronic health condition and having a surgery in March. Those months leading up to surgery were the most difficult and lonely months of my life. Because of my health, I missed over a month of school. I was in so much pain that I could barely eat or sleep.

The one thing that gave me temporary distraction from the pain was the soundtrack to Hamilton. The voices of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., and Phillipa Soo filled my ears and gave me the joy that nothing else could during that period of time.

In July of 2016, after I was recovering from surgery and feeling healthier, my mom and I visited New York City. Hamilton had just won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and it was quickly becoming one of the most popular cultural phenomena in the world. I wanted to see it more than anything, but I didn’t think it would happen. As my mom and I were in a shuttle driving into the city, she was secretly looking at Hamilton tickets without me knowing. She then said, “Should I do it?” I then started screaming and crying. She bought us Hamilton tickets. For that night.

Seeing Hamilton on Broadway was the best night of my life. The show, of course, was spectacular. Everything about it—from the actors to the costumes to the lighting—was perfect. It was the most original, revolutionary, life-changing piece of theatre I have ever seen in my life. It made me laugh and cry so hard that I couldn’t breathe. Even more than being a great piece of theatre, it made me feel grateful to be alive. It almost made the year I had endured worth it to be able to relish in the feeling of getting to witness theatre history.

It’s now three years later and this week, Hamilton is arriving at Wharton Center, which is where I intern and get to help market the Broadway shows that come to East Lansing. I love my job because I truly believe in the powers of theatre: that it educates people, connects people, and in my case, heals people.

I will forever be grateful for the impact Hamilton has had on me, on the theatre industry, and on the world. When I arrived at work on Monday and saw the giant window clings Wharton Center had put up for Hamilton, it was the most full-circle feeling. The musical that carried me through my hardest moments is playing in Michigan at the performing arts center where I work. I hope that the audiences in East Lansing are as transformed by it as I am.