‘Practice, be prepared, be kind’: Maize High grad offers advice for making it in music theater

Not long ago, Trevor McChristian was struggling through sight-reading in Doris Prater’s choir class and auditioning for high school productions of “Little Shop of Horrors” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

Now he’s a star on a much larger stage, playing the role of Jack Kelly in Music Theatre Wichita’s season-finale “Newsies.”

“One of my big things is coming back and seeing kids that were my age when I was just kind of discovering that I wanted to do this,” said McChristian, 22, who graduated from Maize High School in 2013.

“Having people come back kind of propelled me to know a little bit more, get a bit of a world view from somebody that is experiencing it at that moment.”

McChristian and his “Newsies” co-star, Melissa Steadman Hart, visited Prater’s class at Maize High on Thursday to talk about their theater journeys and offer tips for any career path.

“Practice, be prepared, be kind – those are my three big life lessons,” McChristian said.

“Kindness will just carry you so, so far. I really believe that,” Steadman Hart added. “You really start to gain or lose a reputation based on how you treat other people.”

Students smiled and listened intently as the actors shared their stage experiences. Steadman Hart, 30, used the opportunity to issue a warning about social media.

“Whether it’s a filter of your face, or you’re making your waist skinnier with some of those apps, or you’re obsessive about who’s following you or unfollowing you – that is so not real life,” she said.

“Do not let that eat away at you … Just don’t. It’s hard enough. Don’t fall for it. Make sure that what you’re putting out into the world is something that you’re actually proud of and is something that isn’t going to make other people feel badly about themselves.”

McChristian said being part of MTW’s 2017 company has been the highlight of his career thus far because his colleagues are like family.

“This is the most fun I’ve had, this is the happiest I’ve been. This is truly the best experience I’ve had in my entire life.”

This story was originally published August 17, 2017 at 3:24 PM with the headline "‘Practice, be prepared, be kind’: Maize High grad offers advice for making it in music theater."