Noah Nyhart ’17 makes himself at home in the PMAC Black Box.
No one expects an athlete who has never set foot in the PMAC to suddenly become the star of the first school production of the year. Against all expectations, Noah Nyhart ’17 began his Choate acting career this fall when he auditioned for the fall play, The Odyssey, and — to his surprise — landed the lead role, Odysseus.
Nyhart has never acted at Choate, though he isn’t exactly a newbie. His acting career began in the seventh grade at The Foote School when he played Young Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. A year later, he landed the lead in Peter Pan, in which Lily James ’17, then as now a classmate, portrayed Wendy. Three years ago, as a Choate freshman, Nyhart played a Scottish farmer in the play The Thirty-Nine Steps.
At Choate, Nyhart took Acting 100 his sophomore year, but did not want participate in a play immediately. He explained, “I played soccer — that was a blast. I made a lot of my friends that way.” His other extracurricular activities also interfered with being able to take part in a production. Nyhart plays squash in the winter and lacrosse in the spring, so if he were to perform, it had to be in a fall play. According to Nyhart, last year’s fall performance did not resonate with him, so his senior fall seemed like the perfect time to return to acting. “I knew that I wanted to be in a school production at some point, so I was going to do this one no matter what it was, really. I ended up really liking The Odyssey, so it turned out well for me.”
“The audition was bizarre,” he laughed in retrospect. Going in, Nyhart had the impression that reading his lines would be the primary aspect of his audition. “We went in there and they were like ‘Everyone, we are going to test your range on the piano,’ and so we had to sing! It was like a freaking Kaps audition! So I was like no — is this a musical — no I am not doing this.” He left feeling unsure about how his audition went. “It was so quick that I thought, ‘Well, I guess I’ll be a table. And that’s what I thought I was going to be — honestly, I had no clue what I was going to do.”
Regarding his surprising role, Nyhart recalled, “We got the cast list and I made sure it was correct fifteen times.” Those around him were shocked as well. “I think people who knew I had actually done some acting before weren’t as surprised, but people who thought that of me as an athlete that doesn’t know what the PMAC is were completely blown away.”
Nyhart looks forward to the role and the challenge that it poses. “I have to memorize a small novel and get into college at the same time,” he said. “I wanted to challenge myself because school is hard and I think it’s a philosophical way for me to come out of my comfort zone. Senior year is a great opportunity for that.”
Nyhart brings more than pure talent to the stage. Anslem Kizza-Besigye’ 17, also cast in The Odyssey said, “I definitely anticipated his casting to a certain degree. He is the funniest guy I have ever met. He is so incredibly positive and he brings a good attitude to rehearsal every single day, regardless of whether he’s sick or not.”
With his optimism, humor, and of course, talent for acting, Nyhart has a lot to offer to the PMAC. Director of The Odyssey, Ms. Tracy Ginder-Delventhal, stated that “He was right for the role. I am not worried about anything.”
Regardless of age, grade, or experience, the arts center welcomes students who put in the effort to make each production a successful one. Although it has been a couple of years since his last production, those around Nyhart do not doubt he will excel.
