As the graduates of the Class of 2018 were preparing to travel to universities across the nation, Mallory Bechtel traveled to New York City to assume a lead role in the Tony-winning Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen.

This wasn’t Bechtel’s first time in the spotlight. This year, she played the victim in an episode of Law & Order: SVU and a part in the horror film Hereditary. Now, Bechtel plays Zoe Murphy eight times a week in Dear Evan Hansen. “I just love doing the show so much…I love working with such an amazing, talented cast every night,” Bechtel said. However, the Broadway stage she now performs on wouldn’t be possible without the smaller stages of her youth.

Theater has always been an integral part of Bechtel’s life. Her first role was in a production of The Jungle Book wherein she and other children played the part of the snake Kaa. Bechtel went on to participate in every Cooper musical, most recently leading the school’s production of Legally Blonde as Elle Woods.

In addition to hosting the musicals and plays she was a part of, The Glenn Performing Arts Center(GPAC) has also provided Bechtel with acting classes that have given her key skills she continues to implement in her professional work. She places great emphasis on the “moment-to-moment” technique taught by Cooper’s Ms. Mary Rotella in Acting 101.

“I was not very familiar with it at all until I took that class,” Bechtel explains, “Basically, it trains you to focus your attention on your scene partners, rather than on yourself, so that any change in you is an organic reaction to what you are receiving from other people.”

As Mallory continues to propel her acting career she pays homage to the people and resources at Cooper that gave her a foundation for her success.