Theatre Arts Alum Enjoying Acting Success In The Lone Star State
After graduating from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts in 2004, Andrew Varenhorst took off to Austin, Texas to take advantage of the strong film and theatre scene in the capital city.
“I didn’t go to LA or New York right out of school because I needed experience[.] I had some things I wanted to do such as building my reels, resume, doing a lot of theatre and getting a commercial/film agent before going to a bigger city,” Andrew says of his decision.
In the nearly six years since graduating, Andrew has received numerous awards and honors for his performances. Aside from being listed two years in a row in the Austin Chronicle’s “Top 10 Performances of the Year,” Andrew won the Artspark Festival Award for a New Play for his performance in “Searching…” (which he also co-wrote) in 2006; the Best of Fest award for his one-man-show performance of “Jails, Hospitals, and Hip Hop” written by Danny Hoch in the 2008 Frontera Fest; and received a B. Iden Payne nomination (regional theatre award) for Supporting Actor in a Musical for his work in “Gorilla Man,” and won the B. Iden Payne for Leading Actor in a Drama for “Touch.”
In a recent theatrical role as Roy in “We Have Separation,” Tara M. Hall of the Austin Outsider
called Andrew “…the cat’s meow; a pot of gold for Austin theatre. His talent and charisma radiates from the stage like an electromagnetic wave of light. He accomplishes the goal of every actor; convincing you that when the lights are off, the curtain pulled, he is still simply Roy.”
Despite his impressive resume and list of accomplishments, Andrew started out no different than any other new or inexperienced student that enters the theatre department each August. He says of his education at the University of Idaho, “Kelly Quinnett’s beginning acting class was important because I was new to theatre and learning a lot about the acting process. She helped my confidence and encouraged me in that class and throughout school.”
Along with his coursework, Andrew had opportunities to perform in numerous university stage productions. He recalls that “On the Verge” by Eric Overmyer and “Our Country’s Good” by Timberlake Wertenbaker were two of his favorites. “’On the Verge’ was one of the first auditions where I really went for it. Before that I’d only done one show, so getting to understudy Jesse Calixto and watching how to prepare a part was important.”
Now as a professional actor, Andrew has completed a wide range of projects thus far, including commercials for Dell Computers, the Montana Highway Patrol, and the “Stubbs The Zombie” video game. He has performed for multiple theatre companies, including the Idaho Repertory Theatre and the Vestige Group in Austin, and has had lead roles in multiple film projects. This past fall, Andrew wrapped filming on a movie called “Wilderness” with Lance Henriksen and is currently working on “Predators” with Troublemaker Studios in Austin, TX. Both films requiring Andrew to work in creature suits.
Finally, Andrew has the following advice for all those aspiring thespians:
- Don’t wait for someone to cast you. The theatre group I was a company member of got started when the two artistic directors put out ads on Craigslist and formed the group.
- Acting on film is strange until you’ve done it a lot. Find student projects in the Communication/Film department and get involved in their projects.
- Theatre companies love it when someone volunteers their time. They’ll remember you when they’re casting.
- Do a one-man or one-woman show at some point. You learn a lot about yourself when it’s just you and the audience.
- Learn how to sing. And learn how to play guitar. Both will get you parts.
- Improv will teach you how to feel confident in situations where there are unknowns. Casting directors and agents like to see improv training on your resume.
- Try not to take it personally when you don’t get a part. Get over it as quickly as you can and move on to the next audition.
- Break a leg!
Andrew’s complete resume, reel, contact information and additional photos can all be found by visiting
www.andrewvarenhorst.com.
