Chapman ’13 Not Letting Go of Emerson Education While Electrifying in ‘Frozen’

Lauren Nicole Chapman ’13 is living the dream of millions of children — performing as the iconic Frozen character, Anna, on the touring Broadway show of the uber-popular musical, based on the beloved Disney movie.

In between shows, the Musical Theatre major spoke about how she takes care of her voice, her favorite Emerson memories, provided inspiration to aspiring performers, and more.

What do you like best about playing Anna in Frozen? 

Her unwavering optimism, joy, and humor.

Your voice is integral to your job. How do you take care of your voice and body to make sure you’re able to perform your best? 

I try to check in with myself daily on what I might need and go from there. Steam, rest, yoga, pilates, dressing room dance parties, and always, coffee. Touring asks you to be more honest with yourself about what you need to perform on the road, since you aren’t going home to your own bed every night. It means that sometimes, instead of taking the day to explore, taking the day to find some calm and rest. 

Aside from Anna, what other characters would you want to play in other shows? 

Oh gosh, I am finding more and more that I am drawn to developmental work and new musicals. Especially since the pandemic, it seems there’s a bit of a renaissance of new work on the way. I would love to create my own character one day! I also just love making people laugh, so I would love to try to continue to do that.

What is life like being on the road all the time? Do you get to go home sometimes? 

I try to get home between cities as much as possible. My fiancé and I are in the throes of planning a wedding. Even if I am in my apartment for a day, it helps to ground me before jumping into the next city! I also make it a priority to find the spots in each city that I want to explore or that help me to feel more at home on the road. I first locate the nearest grocery, yoga studio, and coffee shop to where I am staying.

What musicals/shows were you in at Emerson? 

Two Gentlemen of Verona, Nine, Darling, and Sweet Charity, to name a few. I was also on the board for Kidding Around. 

What Emerson classes and/or professors helped you grow as a performer? 

Junior Studio with [Associate Professor] Scott LaFeber and [Senior Artist-in-Residence] Jon Goldberg. Their presences influenced me greatly as a performer. I still use a lot of techniques I learned at Emerson today.

How did your Emerson education help you professionally and/or personally? 

Well, first of all, I learned what it would be like to live in a city, which was immensely helpful when moving to New York City. I also felt that I truly received a well-rounded education, including my major concentration, which I feel is just so important. I will never take for granted being surrounded by so many creative individuals wanting to make art. I gained more confidence as a performer and human, and met some incredible people along the way.

The Emerson network has continued to help me along in my journey, and it became clear to me early on in my career that Emersonians take care of each other. I had the pleasure of visiting Emerson just recently as a guest artist and the thirst for knowledge and personal growth is so palpable. It brought me a lot of joy to be able to share my journey with the students and it was such a privilege to watch them work.

If you could work with one Emerson alum in any show, who would it be? And what show would it be? 

Goodness, this is challenging because I have a list. Michael Bello [’12] and I love collaborating together, so I’d love any chance I get to work with him. I have been a big fan of Julia Mattison [’11] and Noel Carey’s [’11] work since we were in school together. They are so creative and just utterly hilarious humans, I’d be so lucky if I got to be in a room with them one day! I also run into Sam Simahk [’10] frequently in New York and every time I say to myself, ‘Ugh, I’d love to be in a show with Sam, he’s the best!’

What advice would you give to aspiring Performing Arts majors wanting to make it to Broadway and touring Broadway shows? 

Be a human first. Theatre people want to work with kind, hard-working performers. Stay hungry to learn all you possibly can, you never know what tools you might need for a job.