Arts & Entertainment

LBHS Student Wins Prestigious Theater Award, Heads Off to NYC

Elan "EJ" Kramer wins an acting award, then opts to pass up his graduation to pick it up in New York City.

By Mariam Jehangir

As many students at Laguna Beach High School get ready for finals and the end of the school year, senior Elan “EJ” Kramer has something more on his mind.

At the 42nd annual M.A.C.Y. awards, held May 27 at Segerstorm Center in Costa Mesa, 17-year-old Kramer won the “Best Performance by an Actor” award for his role as the Baker in Laguna Beach High’s production of Into the Woods, which also won the coveted “Performance of the Day” award.

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Kramer is the first Laguna Beach student to have ever won the top award in the Best Performance category, and with it, he has the opportunity to travel to New York in order to participate in the week-long National High School Musical Theater Awards competition, which takes place from June 20-26 at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre.

Though this is a huge accomplishment, those who know and work closely with Kramer say it didn’t come as much of a surprise.

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Roxanna Ward, one of Kramer’s long-time musical directors, who also worked on Into the Woods, said “because of his great talent and his great passion for the art, I wasn’t surprised, but I am thrilled for him.”

The National High School Musical Theatre Awards is a competition that aims to recognize and celebrate excellence in the arena of high school musical theatre all across the country. Sixty students—30 boys and 30 girls—participate in a week of master classes, coaching, and rehearsals, which then all culminates into one night of spectacular performance on Broadway. The best of the best performers are presented with the National Jimmy Awards.

And while Kramer is excited and eager to take part in all of this, there is another culmination that he is passing up on for this experience: his own high school graduation on June 21, when Kramer will already be in NYC.

“It’s very bittersweet,” Kramer says of missing his graduation day for the awards. “It was a hard decision, because I really like my high school and I’m really sad to be leaving. I’ve had an incredible time here.”

He adds though that he knows he has made the right choice because of what a great opportunity this all is. “There’s not too much I would miss my graduation for, but I thought this is something that’s such an incredible experience, I can’t pass this up.”

Kramer, who comes from a family of musicians, has been involved with music since a very young age. Starting with piano and flute lessons in his earlier years, Kramer didn’t discover his interest in theatre and acting until middle school. When he was in 7th grade, he was asked to take part in a production of “The Music Man” due to his flute-playing abilities. He agreed, and the experience opened up a new world for him.

“At the time I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I just loved doing it and I remember thinking ‘Oh wow this is so cool — I can be totally free and be myself on stage.’”

“Also, I can’t get in trouble when I’m on stage,” Kramer playfully adds. “I remember being up there and nobody could say anything to me, and I really liked that.”

From there on out, Kramer took whatever opportunities he could, getting into drama classes and continuing with the musical theatre in high school.

Cultivating his talent takes a lot of dedication. While other students go home after school, Kramer stays behind to attend all his extra classes, including jazz band, chorus, marching band, dance, and theatre and drama production.

Instead of the regular six periods, Kramer has around 10. Many times, his days start at 7:30 a.m. at school and don’t end until he gets home at around 9 p.m. And through all of this, Kramer also manages to keep up his academic excellence.

“It is difficult at times, but I just have to plan out my week and I try to communicate with teachers,” Kramer says. "It’s definitely a challenge, but if you really love [something] and if it’s really important to you like it is to me, you make it work. If you just stay really focused, it’s possible.”

He also gives credit to his family, teachers, and everyone else who works with him to make what he does possible.

One of these people is Mark Dressler, Kramer’s high school drama teacher, who has also worked with him since his middle school years.

"EJ is the kind of kid who loves participating in the process of putting a show together," says Dressler. "It does not matter if he is the lead or a supporting character. He loves being part of the collaborative process of making the magic happen. Also, EJ’s strength as a musical theatre actor is that he is first and foremost a musician. If [he] wanted to, I am sure he would be accepted in the best music programs in the country.”

Kramer will be attending the Ray Bolger Musical Theatre Program at UCLA’s school of Theatre, Film and Television. After college, Kramer isn’t sure what he will do, but he says time will tell.

As Kramer looks back on his journey and forward to his future, he is extremely grateful for everyone who has helped him along the way.

“A lot of it has been about being at the right place at the right time with the right people, and I am so thankful for having the incredible teachers I’ve had. My family has been so supportive. All the directors, teachers and the entire cast have put in so much work, I don’t think I would have gotten any recognition if it hadn’t been for how hard everybody worked together.”

Here’s hoping EJ has even more continued recognition and success in the near future as he heads off to New York for the Jimmy Awards. Laguna Beach will be rooting for its star.


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