By Haley Yates
After competing on NBC’s The Voice, RHS alumnus Nic Hawk visited Theatre Magnet students to recall his experience onstage and provide a few helpful hints.
Hawk was in Legacy and the Theatre Magnet, auditioning for American Idol five times. Hawk said he attended college for two weeks before deciding it was too similar to his high school experience.
He traveled for a while doing shows like “Guys and Dolls,” “Into the Woods,” and “The Trailer Park Musical.” He then moved to Florida where he danced with Disney and walked on stilts at Universal Studios. Shortly afterwards, he decided to become a singer.
“I decided I really didn’t want to play anybody else on stage,” Hawk said. “I wanted to be myself on stage. I wanted to do my own music and really show people what I had to offer.”
Hawk auditioned for The Voice twice singing “Someone Like You” by Adele both times. The second time, he made it to blind auditions.
“It took me a long time to get to where I am now,” Hawk said. “It took a lot of people saying no, and a lot of people not wanting to give me a chance.
Hawk said he rehearses every day for at least three hours in a studio near his home in Los Angeles.
“You have to do stuff like practicing every day because you have to want to improve,” Hawk said. “You can’t be content staying at the same level that you’re at.”
Most of Hawk’s experience came from doing shows, where he made connections in the theater world.
“When you’re traveling and you’re around people who are performing you tend to take bits and pieces from what they do and make it something that’s unique to you,” Hawk said.
Through The Voice, Hawk got his manager who has been an executive producer on the show since season one. Hawk is his only client.
“I have made a lot of long lasting relationships on the show,” Hawk said. “Blake Shelton, my mentor, has helped connect me with people as well.”
Hawk said his goal on the show was to stay true to himself and keep himself happy.
“I’ve naturally been pretty ridiculous my whole life, like, straight from the womb,” Hawk said. “Some people are born with things, and some people work to get it. I was kind of born with a cool personality, but I still really worked on that. Every time I was going to go on stage, you were going to know that I was on stage, you’re not going to be asleep.”
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