New York’s theatrical world is beckoning for a rising Queenstown star.
Isabella Falconer, 22, has been accepted into the prestigious New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, where she’ll complete a two-year diploma of music, heading off in July.
Right now, she’s living in a hostel and working two jobs — at Huffer and Brazz — to raise money for her big adventure, while preparing for Showbiz Queenstown’s season of Spamalot.
‘‘When I came here in December, I saw they were advertising for actors in this show and I thought it would be a fun thing to keep me busy
while I’m here.
‘‘I love being a part of musicals, it’s a good way to get to know the community.’’
In Spamalot, which opens at the Queenstown Memorial Centre next Thursday, she’s playing a minstrel, a Finnish fisherwoman, a Camelot
hostess and a plague peasant, noting she’s quite versatile when it comes to acting and performance — ‘‘characters come naturally to me’’.
Born in Chelsea, London, Falconer’s parents moved to New Zealand when she was very young, and she spent much of her early life in
Wellington.
She’s always been attracted to music — when she was just 3 years old she’d listen to Beethoven’s 5th symphony with her granddad — ‘‘I found myself humming along and gravitating to that sort of thing’’.
Three years later, she started performing with the Wellington-based Musical Stars Performance Trust, and continued that for another six
years.
‘‘Once I got a taste of that, I couldn’t stop.”
Having recently completed a bachelor of music majoring in performance classical voice at Hamilton’s Wintech, her Unites States relocation’s a huge deal.
‘‘It’s my first big overseas experience.
“It’s really special to get into New York.
‘‘Moving to a big international city is a big risk and an expensive undertaking.’’
It’s also a highly competitive environment, but she says she’s going to ‘‘work as hard as I can to get onto those stages’’.
While she’d like to travel more once she’s finished in New York, she plans to return to NZ ‘‘and maybe start my own musical theatre company to support the arts and push for greater funding’’.
