In conversation: Broadway star Sydney James Harcourt
The Interlochen Arts Academy alumnus (and 2021 commencement speaker) chats with Director of Interdisciplinary Arts Clyde Sheets about discovering dance at Interlochen, why he decided to join the original cast of Hamilton, and what it means to be an artist.
Sydney James Harcourt (AS 94, 97, IAA 94-97) first discovered Interlochen when his mom took him camping across the road from campus at Interlochen State Park. Soon he was entranced by the “Hogwarts in the woods between the lakes,” where he started out as a voice major but found his calling as an interdisciplinary artist. Ultimately Harcourt embarked on a major career on Broadway and in film and television, including as an original cast member of Hamilton.
A frequent guest artist at Interlochen, Harcourt collaborated with Arts Academy students and Director of Interdisciplinary Arts Clyde Sheets on an original multidisciplinary work that was performed at New York City’s National Sawdust in 2019. He also served as a producer and director of ‘One,’ a multidisciplinary work performed by Academy students at Miami’s New World Center in February of 2020. On May 29, Harcourt will deliver Interlochen Arts Academy’s 2021 commencement address.
Here, in a fireside chat at his Interlochen home, he talks with Sheets about discovering dance at Interlochen, why he decided to join the original cast of Hamilton, and what it means to be an artist.
