Daily Inspiration: Meet Bryce Hamilton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryce Hamilton.

Hi Bryce, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Santa Monica, CA. I grew up in Los Angeles with my mom, dad, and sister who is three years older than I am. When I was five years old, my parents signed up me up for the children’s theatre group Kids On Stage and I quickly fell in love with performing and the theatre, especially musical theatre. I started taking singing lessons at eight years old. I knew at an early age that I wanted to pursue performing as a career but my parents didn’t allow me to work professionally until after I turned 18. I continued with both theatre and singing all throughout school, ending up with a BFA in musical theatre.

Once I graduated college, I moved back to LA and started auditioning for all the different theatre companies. It was very frustrating going to all the different open calls, hoping for a callback after being cast in shows throughout my childhood and college education. When I was in school, the pool of people auditioning for shows was limited. Out in the real world, there are hundreds if not thousands of others competing for the same role you want. That took some getting used to! I was so frustrated that I explored the possibility of going back to school for graduate work.

As I was looking at graduate programs, I found out I had booked the part of Rose Lennox in The Secret Garden in Long Beach and I put the idea of graduate school on hold. After that show, I was cast in other productions with different theatre companies. Most of those experiences were terrific and I met a lot of wonderful people. As a result, I was connected with my wonderful agents Nicole Dernersesian and Kara Slocum at Firestarter Entertainment. They are the best!

And then the pandemic happened and shut down all live theatre so there were no opportunities for anyone for a long time.

Right now in June 2021, I am preparing to leave in few days for Vista, CA where I will be playing Madame de la Grande Bouche in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at Moonlight Amphitheatre. As the world is opening up again, I am so excited for this opportunity to perform live again especially with the amazing production team, cast, and crew that are part of this show.

This may sound like a generic story of a girl wanting to perform on stage but it’s a bit more complicated than that. I grew up with a several learning disabilities or LDs. That made everything a LOT more challenging!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As a toddler, I was slow to meet the usual milestones. I did not walk by myself until I was almost two years old. I had a hard time expressing myself with words and developed my own little sign language of sorts to demonstrate what I was trying to say. When I started preschool, it was hard for me to do some of the simple things, like holding the little plastic scissors and crayons. I had a nearly impossible time going up and down stairs or any physical activity that required even a minimal level of coordination. These difficulties did not get better with time, rather they worsened. In grade school, although I could recognize shapes and letters, I could not draw them. I did not always understand what the other kids were doing or saying, and I had a hard time keeping up with classroom activities. My parents arranged a full evaluation and learned that I had multiple LDs; in addition to a general LD, I was diagnosed with dyspraxia (in a nutshell, the brain and the rest of the body fail to communicate adequately, causing a lack of coordination and poor motor skills) and dyscalculia (difficulty with numbers, patterns, and spatial context), and poor executive functioning (think: an orchestra of talented and skilled musicians without a conductor – they each play beautifully, but without a unifying force, it just doesn’t work).

The hardest part of my LDs was not being accepted by some of my peers and even some unkind adults. Occasionally I would get a teacher who would absolutely refuse to acknowledge that I (or any other LD kids) had LDs – literally, there were a couple of teachers and administrators who insisted there was no such thing as an LD, that it was just laziness. And some of the kids were just absolutely brutal in how they treated me. They saw me struggling in school and called me stupid and crazy. My involvement in theater and singing kept me going and helped me deal with their cruelty. My parents went to great lengths to get me all the support I needed to deal with my LDs. For several years, my life was school during the day, and then various therapies (auditory processing, visual processing, occupational therapy, psychological therapy) and rehearsals and singing lessons after school and in the evening. That schedule sounds insane, but it worked for me; I was able to pursue what I loved and still get the help I needed to live with my LDs.

In high school, I transferred to a school that was only for kids with LDs. Every student there had experienced the same treatment I had, some even worse. From that point on, I did not have to worry about bullies or uncaring adults. I had teachers who not only understood that LDs are very real, they actually CHOSE to work with LD students. My academic abilities soared almost immediately – when someone teaches you in way that you can learn, you do. Plus, the school had a wonderful drama teacher, so I was able to participate in high-quality productions right at school. My four years there prepared me very well for college, where I completed my BFA in Musical Theater in four years, cum laude.

My LDs will never go away, but I can live with them. My lack of coordination means I am not a great dancer, but I dance well enough not to mess up on stage. My trouble with numbers will always be difficult – I have to work hard to accurately keep track of my personal bookkeeping. My executive functioning is better than it was when I was little, but I still struggle to makes things happen in an effective and efficient manner. I have learned to joke about my goof-ups rather than feel embarrassed or stupid. I work both in my performance endeavors and teaching theater to elementary school children, and I give private voice lessons. Most importantly, I have learned how to get around my LDs for the purpose of auditioning and rehearsing and performing. I read and reread everything, I practice dance steps and routines over and over, I watch tapes of rehearsals I am in. It’s extra work, but I don’t mind because I am doing what I love, what I wanted to do my entire life.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an out lesbian actor/singer. My past credits include The Polar Express Train Ride (Warner Bros/Rail Events), Ragtime (Chance Theater), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Studio C Performing Arts), The Pirates of Penzance (Art-In-Relation), Sister Act (Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center), and variety of other musicals, plays, and short films.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Favorite Books:
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Outlawed by Anna North

Favorite Podcasts:
Spooked
My Favorite Murder
Deadly Manners
Radio Rental
A Musical Theatre Podcast

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brycehambat/

Image Credits:
Bradford Rogne Harel Rintzler Paul Cranmer