Today we’d like to introduce you to Avamarie Schroeder.
Avamarie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up dancing and trained specifically in ballet in Rochester New York where I am from. I was in a professional training program by the age of 13 and was very focused to become a ballet dancer. One summer, I got hip tendonitis in both hips and had to take the summer off of dance and go to physical therapy. This lead to my parents to enrolling me in a musical theater summer program and from there, I realized I also loved to sing and act. I continued to dance once I was healed but I did not continue to train in ballet the way I did prior. I started splitting my time up accordingly, training in vocal performance at the Eastman School of Music, doing community musical theater shows, and taking acting lessons as well. I went to a summer acting program when I was 15 that really changed my life and introduced me to a lot of acting techniques. My senior year of high school I had my own senior recital at The Eastman School of Music where I sang in four different languages and completed my classical music training there for their high school diploma program.
I applied to an overwhelming amount of colleges before deciding to go the SUNY Purchase College in New York for a year to study theater and vocal jazz. The summer after my freshman year, I trained in the Summer Training Congress at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and then transferred to Loyola Marymount University for theater. This was the best decision I ever made thanks to the guidance and support of my parents. I did several MFA student films, I was cast in several plays and musicals, and finished off my college experience getting signed out of my virtual senior acting showcase at LMU (class of 2020! woo). I am now working on writing music and coming out with an album as well as auditioning with self-tapes for feature films and taking dance class when I can. I plan to stay in Los Angeles pursuing my career 🙂
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. For one my original dream of being a ballet dancer was not easy at all. I was always very flexible and had a great sense of musicality and artistry when it came to my dancing but I grew faster than the other girls. I was always on the taller end and could never turn like the shorter petite girls. I also was curvier than most of them due to how fast I grew and in the ballet world that physique is not sought after. I had my fair share of body image and eating insecurities and then I got injured and found light in the theater world and my confidence since then has been strong and secure.
But that was not an easy ride either…community theater can be very catty and I had many encounters of jealousy and competition that were unsettling as a teenager. I was put down from teachers as well as peers and I was always made to feel bad about my singing voice and doing what was best for me.
Then I found happiness and joy at the Eastman School of Music. This was the most positive, hardworking environment I have ever been in. This school taught me so much and I gained so much confidence and knowledge about my voice.
Once I got to college, I knew right away I wanted to transfer. I did not feel like I belonged at that school for so many reasons. It was a dark, lonely year and I barely did anything creative and I had to get out of that environment. I wanted a complete change and that is why I looked to California as a place I could transfer to.
Once I got to LMU, I knew it was the place for me. I loved everything about the school and I knew I made the right choice. BUT it was not easy my first year either…I ended up getting a major bacteria infection and I had to get emergency surgery so the whole first year, I was sick and could not be apart of as much as I wanted to either. My junior year I took on so much responsibility to make up for the time lost. I took 24 credits both semesters that year, worked two jobs, lead a social justice trip, and was cast in five shows back to back. This was equally amazing and stressful. My senior year, I lived a more balanced life which then leads to the pandemic. Which of course, has not been easy for anyone, especially for my class of 2020 who missed out on so many senior events and our graduation.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My company is me. I am an entrepreneur for myself. I act sing and dance. I am known for all three equally which I am grateful for because that is very important to me that I keep all of my skills up. All of my friends and creatives that I work with know that I am multifaceted which I appreciate. Because sometimes it is hard to determine which to focus on in the given moment of my life and some months I focus on dance a bit more or sometimes it’s acting or sometimes it’s singing. This is what sets me apart from others because not many people can truly do all three and be equally respected for each. Some specific things I am known for throughout the past couple of years are varying. One is my role as Diana in Next to Normal which I did in college. Diana was such a vocally challenging role and also the storyline was mentally challenging.
This was a big moment in my life where I proved to myself I can hold a show and am vocally strong enough to sing in this caliber. I still receive compliments on my performance and it has been a year and a half since it took place. It always makes me feel proud of my work when I look back to that show because before performances, I questioned whether I was going to feel prepared to pull it off because of how big the role was and what it required of me but I pulled through and found so much personal success with that show. It was a moment that really boosted my confidence in performing and showed me that my hard work and passion pays off. Another thing I am known for is my dancing, specifically my heels dancing. I post video clips from time to time on my Instagram or YouTube of when I take class at places like PlaygroundLA or KreativMndz Dance Academy and I always receive great feedback. I definitely have many different sides to my work and a big part of me as a person and as an artist is being comfortable with my sensuality. I have always naturally been this way and I grew up being inspired by Beyoncé and Jlo so it is most fitting that I gravitate toward roles/songs/dances that exemplify this. Another thing I am known for is my showcase material from this past May. It caught the eye of many representatives and fellow peers and I am happy it was able to reach people when it was originally supposed to be a live performance but due to COVID19 that changed.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Oooh, this is tough. I’m very indecisive when it comes to this. All of the dance competitions I was apart of were definitely a highlight of my childhood memories. And when I was in the Nutcracker. Or when I used to pretend I was in the Sound of Music singing “I am 16 going on 17” around my house wearing my mother’s nightgowns that she had to tie for me because they were too big for me at the time. I always loved performing or playing roles. Like I pretended to take my dad’s order all the time as if I was a waitress. I even wrote down that was my dream job in kindergarten 😂 I was silly. Little things like that come to mind. And then of course things like my first trip to Manhattan, when I auditioned and got into my first acting summer program, or when I received scholarship awards in High School or at the Eastman School of music for the work I did.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/avamarieschroeder
- Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
- Instagram: @avamarieschroeder
- Facebook: Avamarie Schroeder
- Twitter: @AvamarieSchroe1
Image Credit:
Yves Bright, Evers Pund, Vaughn Madariaga
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