Today we’d like to introduce you to Hayden Rowe.
Hayden, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up right outside of Atlanta, in Marietta. I had always been an artsy kid, I played violin In the orchestra, took drawing classes, even fenced! For the majority of my early life, I had anticipated that I would go into music and violin performance, I was very involved in the orchestra at school. I only started doing theatre at the beginning of my senior year of high school because so many of my friends were involved, I had never done anything on stage before so I decided I would audition for the fall one-act show. I was cast as Merlin the wizard, and from that moment, I was completely hooked. My favorite teacher came to see the show and told me afterward, “I can tell that you are really at home on the stage, Hayden”.
Ever since then, I was hooked and knew there was nothing else I would rather be doing with my life. Luckily, I have an amazingly supportive family who encourages me to do exactly what I want and follow my dream. I then went on to attend Kennesaw State University where I majored in Theatre and Performance Studies with a concentration in Musical Theatre, my time at KSU was so special and so integral to my artistic career. I had finally found a place that helped me to develop the skills and practices needed for the theatre business, but I also found so many other like-minded people to spend my time with who challenged and supported me to be the best that I could.
My first professional gig in Atlanta was “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Atlanta Lyric Theatre. I was still a student at KSU and my professor, Amanda Wansa Morgan, was the music director of the production and encouraged me to come audition. I got cast as an understudy, and that really helped me get to see how a professional room worked and to nurture professional connections while still being a student at KSU. It was an invaluable process to be a part of and showed me how warm and inviting the people of this city are. Ever since then, I have been working hard and I have had the opportunity to be a part of so many incredible projects. I love this city so much and it is so special to be able to make art that feeds the soul with people who do the same.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As it is with all things in life, you cannot have the highs without the lows. I feel like one of the hardest elements of this business as a whole is having to market and sell yourself as your “product”, and when you do that it can make being rejected that much more painful. Without the right mindset, it can be very hard not to take those rejections personally because after all, it is still “you” that didn’t get the job, but it really doesn’t have anything to do with “you” personally, it just wasn’t the right fit for any number of reasons that are out of your control. For me, it has taken a long time to be able to mentally divide the two in order to protect myself from those nagging voices of “you’re not good enough” or “you really think this is for you?”. Of course, it is a constant journey of self-confidence and finding love for yourself but, I feel way better about it for myself than I did starting out in this field. There is also the age-old problem that we as actors face of comparing ourselves to others. I find myself doing this ALL THE TIME. It is so easy for us to find amazing things in others and then to beat yourself up when you think you don’t measure up. The thing is is that every person is completely unique and brings something great and their own individuality to the table and you just have to trust your own voice and be completely you all of the time.
Another struggle that I have found while trying to pave my way in this artistic field is finding a way to supplement income with a day job. Theatre is something that is so driven by a passion that you have to want it more than anything else it is going to be a rough journey. There is that age-old saying that goes, “If you can think of something that you want to do more than theatre, go do it.” I have been through many odd jobs to support myself as an artist, and when I say odd, I mean it. I’ve been a pizza delivery driver, I had a stint as a Disney Prince for parties, and there was a period of months where I was a balloon twister for restaurants (I never wanna see another balloon dog for the rest of my life!). I am lucky enough now that I have found a job that I really love that also supports my theatre career, I work at MetroFresh in Midtown and it is an amazing group of people. So many of my coworkers have their own artistic endeavors and it is such a supportive environment to be in, I’ve seen many of them in the audience of my shows! So, while having to supplement income for theatre can be a struggle, if you can find the right fit for you, it can be completely fulfilling as well.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am an actor here in Atlanta and I have a focus in musical theatre. I have had the opportunity to be a part of so many wonderful professional productions in the city and have been able to work with such incredible and astounding artists and expand my horizons in so many different ways. I have even had the chance to combine my passion for music and playing the violin with my theatre career on more than one occasion. Earlier this year, I fulfilled a long time dream show of mine, doing “Once” with a tight-knit, family-like cast at Horizon Theatre directed by Heidi Cline Mckerely. There was something so amazing about a cast that in addition to doing a musical, also has to be completely in sync as musicians and essentially a band. It is an experience I will cherish forever and never forget. Having the opportunity to combine the two biggest passions in my life is one of the most incredible and fulfilling experiences of my entire life. I was also a part of an amazing cast of actor-musicians in a production of “A New Brain” as Roger for the Aurora Theatre Appco Alumni series directed by Patrick Schweigert in the summer of 2017.
I also have an incredible love for The Atlanta Lyric Theatre. I have had so much fun being involved in a number of shows with them. They have welcomed me into their family with open arms and I love every moment that I can be involved in a show with that wonderful group of artists. I have been able to live my dream of being a Disney villain as Clayton in “Tarzan”, danced the night away in “The Wedding Singer”, and traveled to gothic London in “Jekyll and Hyde”. I love having the feeling of being a part of such a positive environment that always encourages its artists to be the best that they can be and lifts each other up. “Georgia Ensemble Theatre” is another company in town that truly emphasizes the well being of its artists. I had the pleasure of playing Cheech at GET in last spring’s production of “Bullets Over Broadway” and it was my first leading role in a musical in Atlanta. Doing that show really helped boost my confidence in myself and gave me the feeling that I really can do what I put my mind to. I am so happy with the work and opportunity this city has had to offer and I cannot wait to see what else is in store for the future!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
This is a hard question because having regrets is natural and a part of life. There are many events or choices in life that I look back on and I say I wish I could change. If I am being honest though, I really don’t think I would have changed anything about what I have done to get to this point in my life. All of the good, the bad, and the ugly things in my life have made me the person that I am today and I am proud of that. Sure, I could say that I wish I would have gone back and started theatre sooner, or maybe taken a dance class or two before I was 20 but in the bigger scheme of things, those are so minor to me. I am so proud of the person that my choices have led me to be and I really wouldn’t change anything about my journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: rowehayden.wixsite.com/actor
- Email: rowe.hayden6@gmail.com
- Instagram: @rowe_hayden
- Twitter: @rowe_hayden
Image Credit:
Jake Pearce Photography
Casey Gardner Photography
Greg Mooney
Cayce Calloway
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