Alumnus Report: Jeff Hill
The Gold Fever Follies is a great place for performers to master their craft before they go make it to the “big stage”. Jeff Hill can attest since he’s performed at the Miners’ Hall and went all the way to Carnegie Hall.
“It really makes me appreciate my five summers at the Miners’ Hall. I was able to take risks and really spread my wings. The LA Times said that I am ‘a born performer’ and part of that comes from having so much space to really explore what worked and what didn’t. I think my comfort onstage really comes from those summers being surrounded and challenged by such great talent. Doing 80 shows a summer also helps. Going from the Miners’ Hall to Carnegie Hall is super exciting, and I can’t wait to go back to both!”
How busy has Jeff been? Where do we start?
“Last year was incredibly busy with three performances at Carnegie Hall, concerts on both coasts, LA and New York, as well as completing my second Masters degree at Bard Conservatory. Oh, and I just moved to Winston-Salem, NC.”
With 400 performances, it’s hard to choose a favourite memory. But, after some thought, Jeff came up with one:
“The Cabaret Leeanne MacLim and I put together in 2007. It added a new layer to Follies and we had so much fun doing it. I also miss feeling like I was in a spin-off of The Real World: Rossland Edition! I miss being a part of the ridiculously, crazy family that are the folks of the Gold Fever Follies.”
Next year will mark ten years since Jeff’s first show as Billy in Will You Remember Me?
“Ten years!!!! AAAAH!!!!”
Yes, it’s been that long. How does he feel now onstage compared to the summer of 2002?
“Well, as the VHS can attest, and Heaven help me that no one ever sees that video, I have come a long way. I feel more comfortable onstage now than I ever have. I never feel like I’m done growing though, and I excited to see what’s next.”
Two things are for sure: We miss you, Jeff, and we’ll never tire of hearing you sing.
We asked Felix LeBlanc the folllowing question: If two people had a baby, and that baby was Fritz Augustus Heinze, LeBlanc’s character, who would those two individuals be?
“That’s tough. … Donald Trump and … Colonel Klink, you know, from Hogan’s Heroes.”
So, Trump and Colonel Klink would make up Heinze.
“Yes, but only if Trump loses the hair… and learns to tap!”
He might have enough money to do both…