Year: Freshman
Major: Musical Theatre
Hometown: Bridgeport, CT
On-Campus Activities: Cast Member of Dogfight
Her Campus Ithaca College: What is it like being a freshman musical theatre major here at Ithaca College?
Mariah Lyttle: It’s very intense. We spend a lot of the day practicing dancing, singing and acting, which I guess is the core of musical theatre, but there’s a lot of work that goes into it. They’re looking for a lot of fine details when you sing, act and dance, so we do a lot of exercises like warm ups and stuff like that so it’s very intense and it’s very defined. You have to do it a certain way in order to get the result that you want.
HCIC: Why did you choose to pursue a career in musical theatre and how has Ithaca prepared you so far?
ML: I’ve always loved singing and singing is like the only thing I knew how to do when I was young. So when got to high school, I decided to audition for musicals because I thought it was the only thing to do in school involving singing and I ended up loving it and I decided that it was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. Ithaca’s prepared me for the real world; you know everything seems cookie-cutter in high school because they don’t train you as professionals, they train you to be a musical theatre student. When I got to Ithaca they told me how it is and how it’s going be in the real world. They don’t hold back which I think is very important because if you go into an audition in New York City thinking that everything is going to be easy, you’ll get a rude awakening.
HCIC: Dogfight is the first show you have been cast in here at Ithaca College; what is your favorite thing about the show and what should your audience look forward to?
ML: My favorite thing is working with students that are in different grades, especially seniors, because I can learn a lot from them just by watching them and being in scenes with them and I’m able to see what I have to look forward to in the next few years. I think the audience can look for a really deep story. Dogfight is one of those stories that you would say “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” It’s going to be a lot of laughs; it’s going to be a lot of tears, and you’re in for a little roller coaster.
HCIC: What is the wildest thing that has happened during your rehearsals for Dogfight?
ML: This actually happened last week. There’s a dinner scene [I play mama] and there’s a point where I take Rose’s guitar and hand her a tray with a bag of sugar on it and the sugar was filled to the brim [I don’t know why]. So when I handed her the sugar, the sugar tipped over and was just everywhere. We had to spend like an extra five minutes cleaning up it up and it was all over the person next to me.
HCIC: What are some of the dreams you wish to pursue once you graduate from Ithaca College?
ML: Well, obviously I want to be on Broadway, but in the meantime I want to open up a performing arts center for kids of all ages in an inner city area so they can be exposed to true musical theatre teachings. I grew up in Bridgeport, CT which is a not-so-fancy place. In Bridgeport, theatre is not as respected as I’d like it to be, so I would always do my theatre in neighboring towns. But I want to give someone what I never had in my own town, so that’s the plan.
HCIC: If you could be cast in one show what would it be and what role would you play?
ML: Aida in Aida. That is my favorite show. And if that doesn’t work [which I hope it does], then Felicia in Memphis. It’s a toss up, whatever happens first.
HCIC: What’s your guilty pleasure?
ML: Green tea ice cream and Twizzlers.
HCIC: If you could sing one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
ML: I’ve been singing Higher by Rihanna a lot lately, but anything Beyoncé. If you give me one Beyoncé song for the rest of my life, I’ll sing that too.
HCIC: What’s your favorite thing to do during spring?
ML: I’ve discovered this more so since I’ve been here than I have at home: to sit outside and just read. I’ve never done that when I was home because I never had anything pretty to look at but being here, I’ve found myself doing that more often.