Hadestown–a musical combining the Greek myths of Orpheus and Eurydice along with Hades and Persephone to tell the story of love, self-doubt, and hope. This year, Megan Colton, Arcadia High School (AHS) 2021 alumna, will be starring in the role of Eurydice, performing at Pantages Theater in Hollywood from Oct 21 – Nov 2. 

During her time at Arcadia Stage, Megan took the leading role in Peter and the Starcatcher in her freshman year, which led to her being in every musical since she was a student at AHS. 

“Megan auditioned into our intermediate class and got the lead in the play that year. We did Peter and the Starcatcher. In 10th grade, she auditioned for our advanced theatre and made it in,” said Mr. Steven Volpe, the Arcadia Stage director. Colton was also the lead in the musical Les Misérables during her 10th-grade year.

After graduating from AHS, Megan moved to New York and got a job in a small bakery while trying to land roles in plays. Three years passed by, and she got no callbacks for any of the plays she auditioned for.

“I was like, you know what, I’m done,” she said. “I’ve been trying for three years, and I haven’t booked anything.” Just as she was booking online classes, getting ready to head back to college, Colton got an email asking for a picture of her.

“Okay, I’ll give it one more try. And here we are,” said Colton.

After flying back to New York, she landed the role of Eurydice in Hadestown. 

“Hadestown isn’t a static new show, but everything is the same for every show,” says Colton. “We have walls in the background that raise and lift. It’s really fun to be backstage when that happens.”

The trip was not without its hardships. Colton suffers from stage fright, shaking almost violently whenever she has an audition. 

“I would do breathing exercises, press the pressure points in my hands, anything to calm down,” said Colton. She was also not a natural singer. “I started taking singing lessons when I was 10-years-old. I was such a bad singer that my brothers would throw their shoes at me.” 

After taking dance lessons and singing classes, she grew to love theater. Colton went to the Los Angeles Music Center to participate in a program called Spotlight. She was in it for about three years and met some “truly inspiring people.”

“The advice I got from them was that there is no right path when you’re an artist,” said Colton. “There’s a lot of self-doubt in this industry, and I could watch other people post their stuff online and make a living off that, but I never could.” Colton believes that there is no right or wrong way to approach the path of the arts, but the key is to keep trying and believe in yourself.