From stilts and silence to an evil dentist, senior Henry Hart channeled his energy and took the spotlight on stage, participating in every possible production at ARHS during his high school years.
Throughout his high school career, Hart participated in every musical: “Seussical,” “Guys and Dolls,” “The Addams Family” and “Little Shop of Horrors;” every play: “Radium Girls,” “Tartuffe,” “A Murder is Announced” and “The Importance of Being Earnest;” and the improv show every spring. Aside from drama, he also plays percussion in Wind Ensemble, sings in Chamber Choir and Concert Choir, plays drum kit in Algonquin’s Jazz I and is a part of the student-led a cappella group “Algoncapella.”
No matter the role, Hart works hard to bring the character to life.
“Through acting, I’ve played a number of different roles,” Hart said. “Some roles with no lines at all, all you can have is physical language, other roles were very vocal and very energetic. So learning how to get into character and to really showcase that character on stage is something that I’ve developed a lot over these four years.”
Two of the roles Hart portrayed, Thing 2 in “Seussical” and Lurch in “The Addams Family,” were completely silent, but Hart looked at these roles as a chance to grow and showcase his acting.
“I think the hardest roles are actually the ones without any lines, because it’s so dependent on your physicality,” Hart said. “Not being able to express emotion through voice is something that not many people do…you’re not taking away a part of a role, you’re actually adding another difficulty. So I think those lineless parts are the best experiences I’ve had as far as growth goes.”
One of Hart’s most difficult and memorable parts was Lurch, a completely expressionless character standing on 1 ½ foot tall stilts.
“[Lurch] is a very difficult role to play just because of all the lack of emotion and actions he has,” Hart said. “And among that difficulty, I was also on stilts, which is a load of fun, so I’m very fond of that role…and performing that role. I had a blast with it.”
Alongside the fun and growth, drama comes with many challenges. For Hart, this takes shape in knowing what is too much when on stage.
“The hardest part is being able to stop,” Hart said. “When I get on stage, I get a ton of energy and a great rush of adrenaline, and it makes it very difficult for me to stand still. So I’ve been working on that as the years go on, but it’s still something that eludes me.”
As Hart gave so much to the drama program, it gave back to him too, providing him with knowledge of many shows in addition to new memories, skills and an inspiration to continue into acting.
“[The drama program] reestablished my goal as being an actor in the future,” Hart said. “Had these four years at Algonquin been miserable as far as acting goes, I probably would not be continuing on into acting…but because I’m fond of my experiences, I want to continue doing that.”
While Hart has participated in numerous stage productions, his biggest passion is voice acting: creating accents, doing impressions and building characters with just his voice.
“I’ve always been a fan of voice acting because you are able to play a character you wouldn’t normally be able to play,” Hart said. “Animation helps create worlds that don’t exist yet, and voice acting is a large part of helping to create those worlds.”
Science teacher Brian Kelly was alongside Hart throughout these ARHS productions, directing all but one show, “Tartuffe.” Having Hart in class his freshman year, Kelly noticed his energy and enjoyed seeing him grow over the years.
“When we first cast ‘Seussical,’ he was already one of the most energetic people on the stage at that time, and over the past four years, it has been quite thrilling to watch him refine that energy and focus it into specific characters,” Kelly said.
Kelly describes Hart as an adaptive, attentive and bold actor who is always willing to try something new.
“Sometimes in younger actors, there’s a lot of self-consciousness about doing things that might make you look a little weird, and Henry just throws himself into everything he does…he tries things,” Kelly said.
After working closely with Hart, Kelly also had the chance to learn from Hart and apply those skills to himself.
“Henry is a very good combination between a casual actor and sort of rigid to the craft,” Kelly said. “So if there’s anything I’ve learned from Henry, it’s how to find a happy medium in a lot of places in a lot of ways.”
Hart is uncertain what the future will bring, but looks forward to the opportunities.
“I don’t know what I plan to do,” Hart said. “Often I can’t really plan. I just have to get out there and try to put myself out there in every way possible and the opportunities will arise…it’s a difficult field, so we have to wait and see what the future holds.”
