By Susannah Waite
One acting freshman has come to OCU with a long list of professional credits on her resume.
Andrea Fantauzzi has been involved in the performing arts since she was 5 years old. She began dancing at age 5, participating in competitive dance beginning at age 7 and taking voice lessons and acting classes at age 9.
“I was in my first professional show when I was 12 at Starlight Theater in Kansas City, Mo.,” Fantauzzi said.
Since then, Fantauzzi has been in 10 regional shows. In the past two years, she has been in eight regional shows.
“I’m signed with an agency in Kansas City, and I’m currently in the process of signing with an agent in Oklahoma,” Fantauzzi said.
Fantauzzi began working in film her sophomore year of high school and had to learn quickly how to balance school and work.
“I somehow managed to get homework done – I oftentimes had to make up hours,” Fantauzzi said. “I found time to do homework in rehearsals, and I’m very good at time management.”
Fantauzzi said she does not describe herself as an “average” student.
“For a long time, I wanted to be an average student, but I’ve done too much and worked too much to be an average student,” Fantauzzi said.
Recently, Fantauzzi finished filming Adira, an indie feature film that is currently in post-production.
“I filmed Adira over the summer, and it did eat my summer up,” Fantauzzi said. “I was also in Ragtime at the beginning of the summer, and then I did Footloose at the end of the summer.”
Fantauzzi enjoys acting for film and the stage, but she is focusing on film auditions now.
“The look I have right now is good for film,” she said. “But I love stage work and will continue to do it.”
While she already has experience in the film and theater world, Fantauzzi said she looks forward to learning all that she can during her time at OCU.
“My goal is to learn as much as I can and to be in as many shows as I can,” Fantauzzi said. “I want to be as involved as I can on campus while still being a working actress.”
Emma Bade, theater performance junior, believes Fantauzzi’s experience in the field is beneficial to other students as well.
“The theater school is a valuable tool, even for those who have had professional experience,” Bade said. “We all learn from each other, using all the different forms of experience we’ve had.”
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