Art Student of the Week James Miller

Niwot High School Performing Arts student James Miller has a clear vision of his role in the world. "My interest in theater defines who I am as a person," Miller explained. "Most things about my personality come from my experiences and peers in the theater."

His commitment to his craft was one reason his teacher, Amanda Foust, selected Miller as Arts Student of the Week. "James is a terrific actor!" Foust said. "He was in the high school's fall production of 'Puffs' and as his first production at Niwot, he was cast as two separate characters, one of which was the lead role of Wayne Hopkins."

Miller had a slight interest in theater before coming to NHS, but it wasn't until his first year at the high school that he developed a true passion for it. "From the first day I came to the school," he said, "I had a desire to be in the play."

After the audition and callback process, Miller was cast as the lead role of Wayne, and for the second cast he was chosen for another role, Ernie Mac. "Ernie Mac has a bunch of side roles that consist of most of his involvement in 'Puffs,' his most important being Snape," Miller said. "Being Wayne was very stressful, because he has so many quick changes and props he needs to grab really quick. Wayne also has a lot of layers to his character, and it took me a while to grasp who he was, and how I could put my own spin on him. But Ernie Mac was the opposite. He was fairly easy to understand compared to Wayne, since he doesn't get a lot of the spotlight. I loved playing him and his side role Snape, and he was a nice break from the stress of playing Wayne. The whole show was amazing, and one of the highlights of my theater career so far."

As a theater student at NHS, Miller says he has had an amazing experience. "All of my peers are wonderful people and are my best friends," he said. "Theater has become such a huge and important part of my life, and that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't come here."

Foust appreciates Miller's attention to detail when taking on a role. "James was dedicated to analyzing his characters and the best way to portray them on stage," she said. "James is dedicated to theater and shows great promise in the world of acting."

Miller readily admits that all of the seniors at NHS have influenced his theater career. "To name a few, Aiden Sagner and Fred Zorgdrager have been some of my biggest male role models for the upcoming musicals, and they have helped me progress my singing abilities over the past months."

"He is also a very welcoming presence in the high school's program and is always the first to welcome someone new," Foust said. "He is creative and bright and will continue being a leader in the high school's program."

Although he has not seen many musicals, one of Miller's favorites is "Spring Awakening," a coming-of-age rock musical with a book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik. The musical is based on the 1891 German play "Spring Awakening" by Frank Wedekind.

Miller had hoped to audition for "Spring Awakening" at the Spark Theater in Denver this year, but ultimately decided it would have been too stressful on top of his involvement in this year's spring musical, "Shrek." He is currently the understudy for Donkey in the show.

Two of Miller's favorite theater moments occurred during the school performances of "Puffs." "On opening night," he recalled, "the person who played Leanne, Prugh Dunfee, dislocated her knee on stage while dancing during the improv scene. She had to be in a wheelchair the other night that she was Leanne, and the students had the student tech director, Addie Rozenzon, push her around."

"There was another character, Zach Smith, who would come out and do an improv scene. On closing night, the two actors who played him came out dressed as the twin girls from 'The Shining.' They had a completely choreographed scene and none of the students on stage knew this would happen. Nobody could stay in character, and the students watched all hell break loose. Then Ms. Amanda came out dressed as Zach Smith, and promoted 'Shrek.'"

When he is not involved in theater, his social life and movies take up a significant amount of his time. Other interests include video games, going to the park, and watching television.

Miller wants to pursue a career in acting. After graduation, his goal is to move to Los Angeles, "getting some roommates to pay the insane rent," he said, "and looking for auditions. But for the meantime, I'm going to keep appreciating life in high school, since the next two years are going to fly by."