Nicholas Ewanco has felt at home on the stage since he was little. He started his musical career in the 2019/2020 school year. Since then, he has been the lead in every single musical. This year was no exception, Nick got the role of Ichabod Crane in this year’s fall play.

Q: You’ve been interested in theater since before you got your first role, what got you interested in musical/theater?

A: “I would say, I wanted to see how it would feel performing on a stage in front of a bunch of people. I’ve always liked to sing in the car and in the shower, and I wanted to see how that would translate on stage for me.”

Q: How did it feel when you got your first role?

A: “My first role was Scuttle in The Little Mermaid Jr., and I wanted Sebastian really badly. I was a little disappointed, but I was also ecstatic that I got a supporting role. It felt really good that someone thought that I was good enough for my first year to be able to rank higher than some of the eighth graders, so it was really a nice experience to get that role.”

Q: The Covid-19 pandemic had affected you during the start of the musical season, how did you stay positive during such a difficult time?

A: “Yeah, my first musical, which is what I got Scuttle in, was canceled due to Covid 19. I was really bummed, but I stayed positive thinking about all the fun times I did have during rehearsals, and I knew that I had found something that I truly loved. That is what really kept me positive, knowing that next year I’m going to do it again and it will still be my happy place.”

Q: Do you have any “rituals” before you perform?

A: “I do have a couple! One thing is of course, vocal warmups. We always do lip trills. Things like ‘mommy made me mash my M&M’s’. I don’t drink any milk or have anything with milk in it for at least three days before a performance. Something that I do like right before a show is I will take a moment, sit down with my thoughts and give myself words of encouragement. I tell myself to do my best and know that it’s good enough.”

Q: How has the cast helped you personally?

A: “I’ve loved all my casts, they’ve all been great. My “co-stars” have always been really supportive this year, this year’s fall play especially. That cast helped me calm my nerves because it was my first high school performance. All my casts in general have been very supportive, you know, hugs before shows, encouragement.”

Q: Is there anyone who inspires you?

A: “Yeah! I would say on the acting side of things, I look at Hugh Jackman, who started his career on the stage. I think a lot of people don’t look at theater as something “cool” people do, but then they look at all these movie stars and are like, “Well they’re cool.” They don’t realize that they all got their start on stage. On the singing side of things I look up to Adele. I think she’s supremely talented and really good. I strive to be able to do what she does in my own octave.”

Q: Do you have a favorite musical?

A: “I’ll give you my top three, in no particular order: Wicked, Fiddler on the Roof, and Big Fish.”

Q: Do you plan on continuing throughout your time at OLSH?

A: “Yes I do. Not only through my time at OLSH, but I do want to do theater as a career. If not as a career then I still like to do it at a community theater as a hobby. I feel most at home when I’m on stage, I love it. I will do every show available here at OLSH. I guess we’ll just have to see where the world takes me.”

Best of luck to Nicholas in all he plans to do! To learn more about OLSH theater, check out their Instagram or their page on the OLSH website.