Name: Kira Player
Grade: Sophomore
Age: 19
Major: Acting BFA
Hometown: Hillsdale, NJ
Zodiac: Sagittarius
HCM: What surprised you about your major?
KP: How much work is involved in being an actor such as developing a backstory, in-depth text analysis and how intense it can be at times.
HCM: What is the hardest thing(s) about college?
KP: Being responsible for yourself, keeping track of your own money, time management and prioritizing social and academic life.
HCM: What surprised you about Montclair State?
KP: How many people of color there are here! I thought MSU would be like my high school, 95% white.
HCM: What has been your proudest college moment?
KP: Getting cast in 99 Ways to F*** a Swan because that was my audition to get into the major since initially I was a Theatre Studies major. Performing in it was great because I didn’t think I could do it since it was so far out of my comfort zone and my director was awesome.
HCM: Who or what inspired you to pursue acting as a career?
KP: During my sophomore year of high school, I was cast as Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, so I learned a lot about what acting is and text analysis. I also won an award and that ultimately inspired me to pursue acting as a career.
HCM: What was the first play you were cast in?
KP: “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.”
HCM: What has been your favorite class at MSU so far?
KP: Movement for the Actor.
Favorites
Plays: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Suddenly, Last Summer by Tennessee Williams, Reasons to be Pretty by Neil LaBute, Polaroid Stories by Sarah Ruhl
Musicals: Thoroughly Modern Millie, Dog Fight, West Side Story, Legally Blonde, Sweet Charity
TV Shows: (religiously) Mr. Robot, Project Runway, Ancient Aliens
Movies: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Auntie Mame, The Illusionist, Shawn of the Dead
Songs: (at the moment)In Common by Alicia Keys, Nobody Speak by Run the Jewels, Florence by Loyle Carner (all-time faves) Don’t Hurt Yourself by Beyonce
Book: Harry Potter series
Poem: Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
Superheroine: Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer)
Band/Artists: Beyonce, J. Cole, Run the Jewels, Paramore
Food: ALL KINDS OF PASTA
Beverage: Sweet Tea
Country: France
Place: My living room
Season: Fall
Color: Green
HCM: Do you have any pet peeves?
KP: Lateness and rudeness.
HCM: Do you have a quote you live by?
KP: “The more you avoid something the scarier it becomes”
HCM: Who’s the last person you’d want to be stuck on an elevator with?
KP: My dog because he is so hyperactive and hates small spaces.
HCM: Who’s the one person you’d want to be stuck on an elevator with?
KP: My mom because she would figure out how to get off while I freak out.
HCM: What are you going to be for Halloween?
KP: Medusa!
HCM: Who is your role model(s)?
KP: Beyonce, Queen Latifah, Eartha Kitt.
HCM: Who are five of your all-time favorite women?
KP: Michelle Obama, Beyonce, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Ava DuVernay.
HCM: Where would you visit on your dream vacation?
KP: Paris!
HCM: What are goals for this semester?
KP: To grow as an actor and as a person and be able to buy a car.
HCM: Who is your celebrity crush(es)?
KP: Channing Tatum, Michael B. Jordan, FKA Twigs and Dylan O’Brien!
HCM: What are your career aspirations?
KP: To act in Moscow and own my own theater company.