Not everyone can say that he has acted in movies and TV commercials, but Hope Laubach can! Laubach was a child actress from around ages six to twelve, and even though she no longer acts professionally, she still acts in theater at her college.
When Laubach was in elementary and middle school, she acted in various commercials, short films, and movies. Her biggest work was being a main character in the movie “Dragon Day,” a post-apocalyptic film about China taking over the United States. In every project in which she is involved, she gives her best shot, such as when she spent twenty-five days on set in “Dragon Day.” All her friends who act with her love her willingness to grow and improve in each role she has. “She’s the same on and off the stage, just willing to be put anywhere and happy to do it,” said Josh Bretz, an actor and student who has worked with Laubach in recent theater productions.
As much as Laubach enjoys acting, her focus is not to receive fame or wealth but to glorify the Lord in all that she does, which manifests itself in her acting. Laubach is pursuing a B.A. in Communication at The Master’s University (TMU) in Santa Clarita, California, and is grateful for the friends that she has made in college and the teachers she has met that encourage her to walk in the Lord during this time in her life. “I’ve enjoyed and felt honored for every moment I’ve had there,” said Laubach.
Since becoming a student, Laubach participates in the Theatre Arts program that TMU provides. She played four characters in the Fall 2021 production “It’s a Wonderful Life” and was on crew for the Spring 2022 production “Daddy Long Legs.” She is currently on cast as the character Mrs. Boyle for the upcoming play “The Mousetrap,” a murder mystery by Agatha Christie.
On Thursday afternoon, I had the opportunity to meet up with Laubach at Trophy Coffee, the college’s coffee shop, to ask her about her acting career and how she uses her talent as a Christian.
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Yonemura: How did your love for acting start?
Laubach: …My Opa [grandfather] … was a director when he came to America, and my mom signed us up for acting for the first time when I was about six years old. It just started with that, and as time went on, I started loving plays and… watching theater performances… It was always a lot of fun, and I always loved singing since I was little. So, I think … singing probably brought me more into it and closer to it.
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Yonemura: How many different projects were you involved in as a child actress?
Laubach: A lot. I was part of a lot of different commercials, TV shows, movies. I was part of Lunchables commercials, which was pretty fun, “American Horror Story”… I was part of a kid’s show called “Zeke and Luther,” “Criminal Minds,” and those are mostly just the TV shows and commercials… I was also part of the movie called “Dragon Day,” which is one that was my favorite project I’ve done so far.
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Yonemura: What was the time commitment of being a child actress?
Laubach: Well, usually, you get told how long you’re needed. For instance, sometimes you’d have to be there for eight straight days, but you’d get to go home, and they’d tell you when you have to go back. They can only keep actors for a certain amount of time. Otherwise, they have to pay them more and provide them with lunch and dinner and breakfast. So, it’s a lot of money. So, they usually try to get you out and done with your work as soon as possible… …It wasn’t too time committing, but whenever you’re called, you do have to go… Otherwise, your reputation could be ruined.
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Yonemura: What made you decide to stop acting within the film industry?
Laubach: It was hard. I did love acting, but once you reach a certain age…, you show a little more skin. Same things that I don’t agree with ‘cause, of course, I am a Christian, and there’s a lot of temptation in that because you can be offered a lot of money to do something you may not agree with… …It also was a huge time commitment because I’d have to leave my normal life a lot to do a lot of these commercials and movies. So, I decided to focus more on my schooling, and I knew acting was not something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
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Yonemura: While you were still acting, and in your involvements today, how does being a Christian influence how you act and how you approach it?
Laubach: Well, in acting at the time, it was very difficult in that kind of setting for movies and such because not everyone is a Christian, and not everyone will care about what you value, and it can be manipulative at times. I think one of the main things that really hit me was seeing how an actor can change just to get what they want. …That scared me into being like, “Would I be able to become like that from temptations of wanting a better position in acting?” And you see that in a lot of stars nowadays. … I just didn’t want that to be part of my life.
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Yonemura: In what ways today do you still pursue your love of acting?
Laubach: Once I got to college, I tried out for theater… …The people in it love the Lord, and they’re not doing it for their own personal gain or looking good on stage. They’re working together and seeing themselves as equal with cast and crew, which is not something you see every day… It’s two different parts of the same story, and they’re both just as important, even if not everyone is on stage acting, and I think that’s beautiful to see, and a lot of people don’t see that.
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Yonemura: Do you have any stories from acting here at The Master’s University that really highlight that idea of the equality of cast and crew?
Laubach: …There’s so many different crews that all do different jobs. …For instance, there’s stage crew. There is hospitality, who brings stuff and provides for crew and cast, which they’re amazing ‘cause we would be so tired, and also, some of us, like cast…, or sometimes crew, have to do other things and will sometimes miss a meal. It’s their job to make sure we eat and take care of ourselves and to encourage and help us and just everyone, and they also deal with audience situations, which is awesome. … Then there was sets, and there was props crew, and just so many different people coming together and working hard… … It’s not just one person; it’s a whole team, and I just think that’s a beautiful way of looking at theater.
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Yonemura: Give me a synopsis of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” What was it about?
Laubach: Well, “It’s a Wonderful Life” was first a movie basically talking about a man who goes through life, and in the end, he was thinking of committing suicide, getting rid of one of God’s most precious gifts, and you just see him go back in time and see his life and what would have happened if he never existed… It was very sad at times, but also beautiful… An angel came and showed him what life would have been like if he wasn’t born, and when he comes back, just seeing the pure joy of seeing his family again and having his old life and him just being happy…, he was just overjoyed to be back in his world again…
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Yonemura: What’s the Biblical theme that you were trying to give to the audience?
Laubach: Well, a huge problem today is suicide…, and just teaching them, you need to value your life… God made you, … crafted you in a beautiful and wonderful way. You’re each different, and He designed every step you’re going to take. …You really do need to love others in that way too, just recognizing everyone’s lives are important and everyone matters. It doesn’t mean we’re perfect. We’re definitely sinful people, but that’s also beautiful in a way ‘cause God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, and He created every single person and cared enough to do that, and I just think that’s beautiful…
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Yonemura: What is your role in “The Mousetrap,” and what is required of you playing this role?
Laubach: I play a Mrs. Boyle… But with being part of a cast role, you have to put the work in. … We have to learn all our lines … because we need to get to know the characters and how to best portray them and also learning to trust the other characters to know their lines too, and that’s something that goes with improv ‘cause we’re sinners. Of course, we’re going to make mistakes, and we don’t know everything, and no performance is ever the same. …Sometimes you’ll say a line differently and mess it up. The other actor will be able to pick you up if they know their part, and sometimes the audience doesn’t notice, and sometimes they do, but most of the time, if it’s done right…, the audience won’t even have a clue. …We could never do it on our own. Really shows that God has a heart, has a play in all of this, and I think it’s just incredible we get to glorify the Lord in theater.
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Yonemura: Is there anything else you want people to know about you?
Laubach: I don’t deserve any of the experiences I’ve had. Yes, acting is incredible, and it sounds really cool to have been in commercials and movies and theater and different things like that, but honestly, those were all gifts from God. I could never have done any of that by myself or without the people God put in my life to help me…, …[or] without Christ, and it honestly is so amazing to learn how much God has done for me every single day. I’m learning new things everyday about myself and about how God is so good, and I just hope people know that actors, like, they’re really amazing at what they do, but some people do it in a flawed way. This is a broken world… There’s sin everywhere, but in the end, God is in control of everything. It doesn’t matter where you are. He knew exactly where you’d be yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and… that God’s watching over you, and that’s honestly something I’ve held to everyday.
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“The Mousetrap” will be showing October 21, 22, 28, and 29. “The Mousetrap” will be showing October 21, 22, 28, and 29.
Find out more at https://www.masters.edu/arts-and-events/theatre-arts/ .
Purchase tickets at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/66858 .
