Towering above most other females at 6-feet-1-inch tall, West New York’s Krista Kaltenbronn, currently a senior music theater major at Rider University, says her height may make it difficult to cast her in certain roles – but that’s not going to stop her from reaching for her dreams.
“I don’t see myself loving anything else,” said Kaltenbronn, “and I feel like I owe it to myself to follow my dreams.”
The Memorial High School graduate recently got a little closer when she appeared in the annual Showcase of New Talent presentation in New York City on Monday. Collegiate singers, dancers, and actors performed for agents and other industry professionals at the Signature Theatre Company.
“The point of the showcase,” said Kaltenbronn, “is to, on an individual basis, have an opportunity to display your talents to new faces. That way, they get a chance to see the potential that you have as a performer. If they see you have potential, you get jobs out of it or an agent to get you going in the industry.”
Kaltenbronn was one of 13 students from Rider’s Westminster Choir College to demonstrate their skills during the one-hour event, hosted by “Jersey Boys” performer Russell Fischer.
‘Hope my passion and joy came through’
Kaltenbronn said she spent a semester preparing two songs to perform at the showcase.
“My intention was just to storytell in both of my songs,” said Kaltenbronn. “I hope that they saw that I am a sincere and heartfelt performer, and I hope that my passion and joy came through on stage, because that is what I felt while performing.”
She also said that she didn’t want to expect too much from the showcase.
“I thought of it as just another performance that I was going to enjoy,” she said. “But it would be great if I could get an agent out of it, or someone who sees my potential and wants to help further me in the business.”
To get ahead while studying at Rider, said Kaltenbronn, she has been concentrating on three disciplines: singing, dancing, and acting.
“We focus on all three things,” she said. “That way, we become triple threat performers.” She added that most productions now require their performers to excel in all three.
Though she has been testing out her vocal cords for more than 10 years, she said, she needed to catch up on her dancing when she started college.
“At this point, I am trying my best to hone in on my dance skills, since I didn’t train in it when I was really young,” said Kaltenbronn.
After graduation, Kaltenbronn said, she will focus on auditioning “a whole heck of a lot” and making her way to Broadway.
“In the near future, I hope to have doors open for me in the theater world,” she said. “Ultimately, Broadway would be a great thing, but I would love to do some straight acting work. I would also enjoy doing film work or a play.”
No matter what obstacle she may have to tackle, she said, appearing on stage is what she feels compelled to do.
“I just feel like the best vehicle for me to touch people’s lives is performing on stage,” she said. “There’s just no other feeling like it.”
Amanda Staab can be reached at astaab@hudsonreporter.com.