Next Generation: Kayden Hoeke
Carrying on a conversation is something Kayden Hoeke prides himself on. Whether it’s connecting with a stage partner, an audience member or his own character. And in his first couple years at Augustana University (AU), he’s been able to dive into what that means for a theatre performer.
“For me, it’s really just being able to embody a different person or character or thing—and doing it alongside someone else who’s doing the same thing,” he said. “Having that conversation. That interaction. Being able to create this completely different world in a room for one to two hours is just so fun.”
And thanks to a host of support from family, Hoeke has taken his performing journey through a variety of different side streets. “The first year I started doing this, my mom went to every single show, and she probably had about 10 tickets ordered for each performance to bring friends and family members. And I’m literally Munchkin No. 32. I had such a good support system.”
Hoeke accepts the award for Best Performer in a Play or Musical (Collegiate) at last summer’s Sioux Falls Stage Awards. (Credit: Rachel Winters)
The fledgling actor and AU education major since dove headfirst into the world of collegiate theatre and found it to his liking. Originally from Brandon, Hoeke dabbled in musical theatre from a young age before cutting his teeth in more dramatic settings thanks to oral interp.
“How big it felt—being on the stage and having all these people come watch was just so fun,” he said. “That’s really the kick I’ve gotten out of it. Even when I’m performing now, I’m really focusing on feeding off the energy the audience is giving and giving it back to them.”
His first foray into the university’s performance schedule was last year’s James and the Giant Peach (pictured), where he played the part of the Earthworm in a Sioux Falls Stage Award-winning performance.
“I think what was really nice about it was that I kind of got to take my own interpretation of the character in that it’s not so well-known,” Hoeke said. “I didn’t have to live up to someone else’s expectations of it. I just had to hit some basic principles of it and the rest of it was mine to make what I wanted.”
When it comes to mapping out a future, Hoeke is pleased that he’ll have a background in elementary and special education in his toolbelt. But he knows that performing will always be a part of his life post-college.
“I would love to perform in a national tour—getting to do that every day would be so cool,” he said. “I would also like to be a special ed teacher and doing theater as well—on a more regional level.”
And while his next performance on the Edith Mortensen Center Theatre stage at AU might not be set in stone—he’d hoped to audition for the university’s production of King Lear in spring 2020 before the season was cut short due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s looking forward to his next opportunity to connect and carry on that theatrical conversation.