Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew Lake.
Drew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m an only child and growing up, was one of the shyest kids you’d ever meet. My mom has always been the singer of the family, so I grew up going with her to voice lessons, choir performances, you name it! Music was (and still is) a huge part of our lives. She always wanted that door to be open to me and tried to get me out of my shell a few times when I was younger, asking me to sing a song with her at the end of a voice lesson, putting me in children’s theater camp, and finally, enrolling me in ballet class. Once I started dancing, I never stopped, and would eventually go on to travel about 3 hours roundtrip every day in high school to train with Captivating Dance by Nona in Menlo Park, CA.
My mom (along with some incredible family friends, my second parents if you will) drove me to & from class while raising me as a single parent and running her own business – my mom’s my superhero. This experience shaped me as a person, an artist, and a dancer, and was the reason I was able to go to Loyola Marymount University for Dance.
Fast forward a few years and I’m still too shy to sing in front of people. I ended up enrolling in a Musical Theater class in the dance program led by the late and great John Todd, who told us that the class would be just as much singing as it would be dancing, which thoroughly freaked me out. I was about to drop it and one of my best friends convinced me to stay, and wow am I glad I did. John would go on to be an incredible mentor to me, and I attribute so much of my career to what I learned within the 4 walls of that class. He made you dare to be a version of yourself you only dreamed of and gave you the tools to make that dream a reality. “Just do it,” as he would say. I started to train & grow as a singer and actor as well as a dancer, and ever since graduating have entered into the musical theater industry where I’ve been grateful to have some really amazing opportunities!
Alright, 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?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I’m firm a believer that everything happens for a reason. I feel like the course of my career early on was a series of arriving at an opportunity I really wanted, but was not fully prepared for in some way, which led to a lot of rejection at the start. Thankfully, I have incredible mentors in my life who encouraged me to keep working, keep learning, and to question every seemingly closed door. Losing a mentor is a specific type of pain, and I don’t think anyone could’ve been prepared for the loss of John Todd, but he instilled so much drive in me and so many others to be empathetic storytellers, and I really hope to do him proud with the work I’m doing.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a dancer/singer/actor, but above all I’m really passionate about being a storyteller. What has made me fall in love with being an entertainer is the empathy that is required to take on each new show or role. The ability to step into/give yourself over to another life for a moment is magical to me, and the exchange between performer and viewer is so important. If I can make someone relate to a life they never thought they’d relate to with my work, I’ve done my job.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
To lead with love, always. We never know what anyone is going through, and we never know how much time we will be on this planet for, so why not try our best to show empathy to one another and to act with love first & foremost?
Contact Info:
- Website: drewhaleylake.com
- Instagram: @idrewalake (Instagram and TikTok)
Image Credits
Chris Davis, Leavitt Wells, Kyle Kuhlman
