The Next Step: Griffin Lockette

Many don’t realize that students come from far and wide to attend Post, especially those in the theater and performing arts department. This small percentage have to leave their family and friends miles away to pursue their dream. This is the case for senior musical theater major Griffin Lockette. Born and raised in Kailua, Hawaii, which is 4,966 miles away from Post’s gates, Lockette moved to New York to fully immerse herself in the stage light.

Going into her final year, Lockette explains the importance of the Post Theatre Company (PTC), and how the support they provide each other with is monumental, and greatly responsible for her success.

“Having a group of people who are interested in making art and support you in your artistic goals and risk taking, and who are there for you when you fail and encourage you to keep going is absolutely invaluable,” she said. In Lockette’s case, being so far from home has forced PTC to become her home away from home.

“We are definitely a family and we are all made up of such different people from different places with individual gifts and talents, and it’s been an honor not only to learn from my profes- sors and faculty but also to learn from my peers and bear witness to their growth,” Lockette said.

Last summer, Lockette worked on several shows and even took a step back from the stage lights by helping stage manage productions, giving her a different perspective to the world of theatre. “It reminded me that theatre is and always should be a collaborative experience, and that is part of the magic of it,” she said.

Lockette made her debut on screen working in a short film that will be showing in various film festivals this year. “It was a fun project and was a good way for me to apply my acting training and get film experience. I definitely prefer theatre though,” Lockette said.

Being a senior in the theatre department means acting as an exemplar student to the underclassmen, and Lockette is no stray from the trend. In her time at Post, Lockette has established herself on the main stage, having starred in “Trojan Barbie,” “Spring Awakening,” “In The Wake,” and two student projects. One of these projects toured an international festival in Manizales, Colombia.

She is currently in rehearsals for PTC’s upcoming production “Ubu Roi” which opens on Oct. 10. With that said, if she could rewind time, there’s plenty Lockette would alter. “I would tell freshman Griffin to breathe and to let go, and that worrying about things aren’t going to change them,” Lockette said. “I would also tell her to allow herself to be more vulnerable in her work and her friendships and to let people help her when she needs it. That’s something I wish I would’ve learned earlier.”

In terms of what’s to come, Lockette has a strong belief in activism and standing up for a cause; she wants her performances to reflect this importance. “I want to create and be involved in theater that is based on social justice and activism,” she said. “I really want to use art as a means for social change and to bring awareness to things that are considered controversial or taboo, especially in this political climate.”

Lockette, like most PTC members speaks highly of the department as a whole. “I feel unbelievably supported and invested in as a person and an artist, and that is hard to find, especially in a theater program. I am so thankful that I found PTC.”