Natalie Hawkins is 18 years old and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, read the article below! :o)

"Natalie Hawkins
We are delighted to introduce you to Natalie Hawkins. You may remember her as Miss Dorothy in
THOUROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE last summer, or earlier this year as Mrs. Darling in PETER PAN.
But her most memorable role has to be Belle in our most recent production of BEAUTY & THE BEAST. With her
powerful voice and solid character work, it's no wonder the audiences did all but jump out of their seats on the last note
of her song, "A Change In Me".

Confidently singing the "A, B, C's" at the tender age of 3, Natalie had developed the unquenchable thirst for the limelight.
By middle school, she got her first lead (Rosie) in her school's production of BYE,BYE BIRDIE. Since then, Natalie has
been in 30 plus stage shows and doesn't believe she'll ever stop. "Stage is an addiction, a passion...I don't know how
else to describe it...it's like eating from a bag of potato chips, you can't stop at just one! I know it's cheesy but that's
what it's like."

Natalie comes from a family of performers. Her brother is a talented stage actor, her mother is a vocalist and her grand-
mother, accepted to Julliard School for Performing Arts as a young girl, is also a singer. Surrounded by such talent and
passion growing up, it's only natural that she longs to be on Broadway. She's on the right track. She is training with vocal
instructor, Pam Hicks and takes dance classes whenever she can. It's tough with a full college schedule, but she is deter-
mined. She realizes the value of "hands-on" experience gained in doing productions. Unfortunately, Natalie confides,
many of her past experiences fall short in comparison to her experiences with StarStruck, "I'd done lots of theatre but
it wasn't until StarStruck that I was first given acting pointers. It was so refreshing to have someone draw the skills out of me instead of just pushing me on
stage...it's like attending a master class." She also understands the importance of ensemble work and enjoys it immensely. When cast as an ensemble
dancer in a production of OKLAHOMA, she had never danced before, "I learned so much....the dancing was incredible and the choreographer (Mike
Sloan) was so cool!" She also loves the connections she makes with fellow actors, "The shows depend on those unique friendships."

She is inspired most by Sutton Foster (original Millie), Johnny Depp ("one of the most versatile actors around!") and by her friend and fellow actor, Juliane
Godfrey. "Juliane was incredible to work with. She's a true triple threat (her dancing is phenomenal!). All that talent and she stays so sweet and humble."
Her dream role is Mrs. Lovett in SWEENEY TODD. When asked what advice she would give to the next generation of StarStruck performers, she said,
"Be true to yourself and what you believe in. Be humble and no matter how much praise, be gracious. If you really want to live your dream, don't give up!"

Not only is Natalie extremely talented, she has a strong work ethic. She is a wonderful example to the other actors at StarStruck for she keeps a level
head and is always so gracious. It's rare to find such qualities in someone so young and so gifted. With the support of her family (her mom also
volunteers designing hair/wigs while her stepfather, Lyle helps build sets for StarStruck) this young lady has a very bright future, in any career she
chooses. We are so proud to have Natalie as a part of our
StarStruck family.


Be sure to catch Natalie playing Ida
in our upcoming production of HONK!"