Alumni Spotlight: Ben Boecker

Bio

Ben Boecker (he/they) is an award-winning composer-lyricist, vocalist, and teaching artist living and working in NYC.  Some of the highlights of Ben's career include music-directing workshops for New York City Center’s Encores program, teaching voice lessons and accompanying chorus classes at the Calhoun School (a progressive school on Manhattan’s UWS), and developing original works like “Dani Girl” and “Fools in Love” with the Open Hydrant Theater Company in the Bronx.  Ben attended Usdan as a camper for 7 years, and is thrilled to be back for a 5th summer on Faculty in 2023 developing their original work, “Camp U! The Musical” with the theater department.  Ben is also thrilled to announce that their original musical, “My True Love! A Perfect Musical Fairytale,” which premiered at Usdan Arts Camp last summer, will have a 20-performance Off-Broadway run at the Player’s Theater in Greenwich Village next Spring, 2024.  Ben also leads a vibrant second life in Manhattan’s cabaret scene having performed one-man shows at venues like Birdland Jazz Club, Triad NYC, and 54 Below!  Ben is a proud member of the BMI Musical Theater Writing Workshop, Actors Equity, and the Dramatists Guild, and is on the adjunct faculty of Leman Prep Conservatory.  www.benboecker.com 

Ben's Usdan Experience

What Was Your Favorite Class or Usdan Activity?

Wow.  It is so hard to choose.  There are so many amazing activities I got to take part in at Usdan, whether being part of the Rep Company (now called Usdan Troupe), taking guitar lessons, making a whirlpool in the swim area, or watching the mimes perform.  I made so many amazing friends in the theater department, and I particularly enjoyed my time there.  I was lucky too to play some amazing roles.  But I have to say, ironically, I think my favorite class was my minor when I was a little kid— chess.  I didn’t make my best friends there.  And I didn’t spend a lot of time there.  But playing chess was quiet, calm, and methodical— something I could do no matter how my voice was faring that day, and I enjoyed the peacefulness of it.  Perhaps that’s why I’ve become a writer.  I love spending time in quiet solitude, thinking, strategizing, and creating a better world in my own way.  Of course I still love performing too, but it helps a lot to have that quiet time to recharge.

What is your favorite Usdan Memory?

I think my favorite Usdan Memory is probably the first time I stepped out on the stage as a junior theater major in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  I remember my heart thumping while I stood backstage, hearing the audience out there, and hearing the music director, Lloyd Ariola, playing the overture.  I was SO nervous.  I also had the FIRST LINE.  It was terrifying, but there’s a part of performing where you have to sort of leave your fears at the door.  You’ve done the work, it’s in your mind, in your body, and at a certain point, you just step out and do it!  So I did!  I think that first entrance was the most nervous I’d ever been to perform a role in my life.  It was also great practice for the performing, public speaking and teaching artistry I’d go on to do later in life, and I will never forget it!

How did your experience as a Usdan student prepare you to contribute creatively to your community?

I was so lucky at Usdan.  I was cast in major roles in every production I did, and when I wasn’t a major role, I had at least one or two awesome solos.  Please don’t be jealous.  Everything else after that was way harder.  I think the biggest thing I learned at Usdan, that would serve me afterwards when I was competing for roles with more and more people, was how good it feels to be valued for your talent, and that every member of any ensemble can and should experience that.  In Theater Rep we used to pass around a pink monkey and give everyone their chance to be person of the day— we’d give them major compliments and we’d treat them like they were the star of the show for that day.  Through these lessons I learned how to lift the people in my community up, and make them feel like stars.  Now, I use my talent to build fantastic art for other people.  I’m so excited to be doing that at Usdan this year with “Camp U!”  One of my new idols is Lear deBessonet, due to her work with communities, like Shakespeare in the Parks’ Hercules, and Encore’s Into the Woods, because both of those productions were very community focused, and involved performances from people in the local community.  In my opinion, making art with your community is the most joyful kind of art you can make, and I think it’s the best way to make everyone around you feel like a star.

Thank U for sharing your story, Ben!