Today we’d like to introduce you to Hazel Eko.
Hi Hazel, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story starts in a church. One day after service, I went up to the microphone and started singing. I didn’t think too much about it, but I remember seeing my family and friends pretty impressed at this six year old singing so beautifully. I think that was the moment I found my gift from God. After that, it was only up from there.
I did a lot of musical theatre throughout middle school and high school. I grew a deep love for being onstage and I found a second home within my theatre ensemble. Seeing what the arts did for my community, for my dearest friends, and even for myself, it inspired me to want to give that gift back. During my senior year of high school, I decided I wanted to become an educator, so I began working as a vocal coach for my high school productions. Later on, I also worked as a teacher, giving acting and vocal lessons.
After high school, I decided to continue my education at NYU. I’m currently a rising senior, pursuing my BFA in Drama and minoring in Educational Theatre. College really helped me grow into woman that I am becoming everyday and additionally helped me fine-tune my craft as an artist. Now, as I’m entering my final year of college, I’m just interested in discovering how can I use my gifts to support young artists from underprivileged communities.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think anything worth it in life will ever be easy. I’m still so young; I’m still discovering myself as an adult and as a person in this world, continuously learning and unlearning. In my opinion, I think that’s the whole point. I’ve questioned my purpose a lot and I’ve questioned myself. I’ve made mistakes along the way, but God has always guided me through and no matter how many times I fall, I can always get back up. I’m proud of how far I’ve come with my life and my career and there’s still so much more for me to discover. Just have to trust the process every single day.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am an actress/singer/teacher making my directorial debut this summer with the beautifully written play, The Dream of the Burning Boy by David West Read. It’s honestly such an honor and a blessing to be able to produce and direct my first play in my hometown. I came up with this idea a week before coming home for the summer after wrapping up my junior year of college. I remember calling my high school drama teacher, and I said “hey, I wanna work on something back home, like maybe we can put on a play” and since then, this project has evolved into something I still can’t even believe.
This project has truly taught me a lot about discipline, patience, leadership, and commitment. I truly wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to do something this massive with such little time, but when God has something for you, He’ll provide you with everything you need. I just had to stay faithful even through the hard days. God truly showed me the power of faith with this project, as my creative team for this play is people from my community or people I went to high school with. It truly is a student led production and we’re all putting in the work to make this show come to life and I couldn’t be more grateful. I have an incredible cast and I’m so honored to be their director, because they’re all people I grew up with. My goal with this project was to give young artists in LA the chance to work on a professional production and showcase their talent to the community. I also wanted to teach them discipline; I’m challenging my cast to look deeply into a script and discover the nuances and hidden parts of each character and each moment. As an actress and an artist, I believe my job is to look deeply at the complexities of humans, without the lens of a moral compass, and provide audiences the space to feel comfortable relating to the uncomfortable. To be able use my knowledge to teach those skills to my cast is such a joy. I see my actors getting more curious and vulnerable throughout our rehearsals, and I couldn’t be more proud of the work they’re bringing to the table.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Definitely my Bible and prayer. Anytime I need guidance, or I feel off or confused, I turn to prayer or my Bible. I know those two things will never steer me wrong and it helps me find clarity within such a busy world.
Pricing:
- Tickets for my show: $16.78
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hazeleko.com
