Doing It All: Up Close and Personal with Adam Gearhart
It all started when he was six as the narrator in the Little Red Hen. "I got stage fright so bad, I was crying backstage. I was so afraid of going out in front of everybody. But I did it anyway with a shaky, broken voice."
After that, Adam Gearhart was hooked. "I had the bug and wanted to do it from then on."
Gearhart has come a long way from his Little Red Hen days. At age 18 he plays more serious roles. In Boys Next Door with the Kanawha Players, he played the role of Barry Klemper, a schizophrenic turned golf pro. Gearhart has also made his mark in productions like Seussical the Musical with the Charleston Light Opera Guild (CLOG), The Nutcracker with the Charleston Ballet, Cinderella with the River Cities Youth Ballet and Crazy for You at Capital High School just to name a few.
Gearhart had a long sabbatical between his first performance and the tenth grade, when his acting career took off after taking a theater class at Capital High School. And he hasn't looked back since.
The Start Of A Career
"A lot of what I've learned was from Capital High's introduction to theater," Gearhart says. "It kind of gives you a small confidence boost and that's really all that you need. Once you have the confidence you can start progressing." That confidence encouraged him to go to his first audition for The Little Shop of Horrors with CLOG. "I thought, hey, if I don't get the part I don't get the part, but at least I'll get the experience."
Gearhart didn't get the part, but the audition did get the ball rolling. He was asked to come back and try out for Seussical the Musical. "It was jammed packed with people; I could tell that all of them were very experienced," Gearhart describes. "I was scared stiff as I walked onto the stage." He overcame his fears and Seussical the Musical marked his first major production, even though he only had the single line of, "Wolf." Since then, Gearhart has continued to perform every chance has gotten.
"It was incredible! I was just thinking, 'If this is community theater, how amazing will it be to be on Broadway, or be on Bonneville, or Vegas, or New York, LA, Florida or a cruise ship?' I don't really care. It will be awesome!"
Fringe Benefits
Besides finding a craft he loves, acting, singing and dancing have additional benefits for Gearhart. Until that day in the tenth grade when he decided to take the theater class, Gearhart hated school and high school life. But after becoming involved in the arts things started to change for him. "It has given me so much confidence, I was able to lift my head when I walked down the hall," he says. "I thought that the world was terrible, I thought everything was bad, I was one of those depressed kids. It opened my eyes to happiness."
Gearhart also learned some valuable life lessons. With rehearsals almost every day and independent practice every night, Gearhart had to manage his time and prioritize. According to Americans for the Arts young people who participate in the arts for an extended period of time are "four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, three times more likely to win an award for school attendance and read for pleasure nearly twice as often."
Now Gearhart's dedication and hard work are paying off. He will be starting his first year at West Virginia Wesleyan College on a Musical Theater scholarship, an Achievement Scholarship and the West Virginia State Thespian Competition Scholarship. He plans to double major in theater and communications, while minoring in dance.
As for his future, Gearhart does not know where he will end up, but he does know that he will not leave his love for the arts behind. "I have no idea where this is going to take me, but I don't ever want to stop progressing. I want to do it all!"
