Get to Know a GODSPELLer: Nick Shoda

Full given name: Nicholas Robert Shoda

Role: Lamar
Song: "All Good Gifts"
Instrument: Percussion

Where you were born/where you were raised: Urbana, IL

Special skills: One-handed cartwheels, run-on sentences, general sass

Something you're REALLY bad at: Dancing. I excel at the art of screwing up choreography.

Did you have any particular mentors or inspirations as a young actor? I guess I'd have to say my parents, They have always been supportive of me, even when I am truly insufferable.

Current local show you have been recommending to friends: 33 Variations at TimeLine Theatre Company. Great acting, beautiful design.

Favorite Chicago neighborhood: Andersonville!!!

Favorite show tunes of all time: So, so many, but here's a short list (in no particular order): "Move On" and "Sunday" from Sunday in the Park With George, "Say it Somehow" from The Light in the Piazza, "If I Didn't Believe in You" from The Last 5 Years, "And I Am Telling You" from Dreamgirls, and the entire score of Pacific Overtures

Favorite musical: Pacific Overtures, The Light in the Piazza, Rent, The Last 5 Years

Favorite play: Death of a Salesman, Angels in America, Doubt, August: Osage County

You personal acting idols: Kate Winslet is my girlfriend. She doesn't know it yet, so it's kinda awkward, but we're very much in love regardless. Also, I want to be Meryl Streep when I grow up.

MAC or PC? Mac, all the way.

Must-see TV show(s): Community, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Weeds

Last good movie you saw: The Dark Knight Rises

Some films you consider classics: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Alien, Terminator 2, The Little Mermaid, The Shining, Me and You and Everyone We Know

Performer you would drop everything to go see: If I could time travel, it would be Whitney Houston circa 1993. Also, Beyonce. Always.

Pop culture guilty pleasure: America's Next Top Model

Three favorite cities: Chicago, Urbana, IL, and NYC

First stage kiss: Rebecca Schrepfer in The Mystery of Edwin Drood during my junior year of high school. Totally unplanned, awkward, and awesome.

Moment you knew you wanted to perform for a living: The last night of Drood. It was one of those "had-to-be-there" moments, but definitely a turning point for me.

Pre-show rituals or warm-ups: Stretching, vocalizing, occasional bouts of abject terror. You know, the usual.

Worst costume ever: I played a frog and had to wear hideous lime green tights. Not. Cute.

Leading man role you've been dying to play: Mark in Rent, Jamie in The Last 5 Years, Bobby in Company

Leading lady role you wish you could play: Effie (of course), Clara in Piazza

Three things you can't live without: My family, my music collection, and my iPhone.

"I'll never understand why…": People say "expresso." THAT IS NOT A WORD.

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See Nick in The Brown Paper Box Co.'s production of GODSPELL September 20 - October 7, 2012 at Collaboraction Studio 300 in the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 North Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. For tickets and additional information, visit brownpaperbox.org.

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