MMT Company Spotlight: Meet Erik Snyder!
We first met Erik when his now 20-year-old daughter started taking acting and dance classes at our DPAC studio in Lambertville. She was then cast in our production of Annie at the Open Air Theatre, we needed a few adults to be in the FDR cabinet scene and Erik volunteered. The rest, as they say, is history. Not only have we known him for over 12 years now, but Erik is a proud MMT Board Member and was part of our journey in finding our indoor home right here at Music Mountain!
Having been in over 40 shows with us, Erik says that picking a favorite role is much like picking a favorite child (he respectfully requests that we not ask his kids which one is dad’s favorite though) and he has loved all of his parts from Dracula, to Lancelot, to Earthquake Magoon, to Emile DeBeque, to Franz Liebkind, and to his current part as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. “Each role is like a little piece of me that I love to revisit every so often. I love acting probably the most of anything I do on stage and it’s so much fun to create a character from pages in a script”, states Snyder.
Erik notes that he loves the people of MMT. Everyone from the Board members, staff, patrons, teachers, the kids, and to his fellow performers. “It is a wonderful happy place in a sometimes not so happy world. Regardless of how things are going in real life, MMT will always be my happy place”, he adds.
When not in his happy place here at Music Mountain, Erik works for Hill’s Pet Nutrition and teaches Veterinarians how to use different food diets for cats and dogs that are sick. He is very passionate about animals, especially his four dogs at home! In his spare time he enjoys reading, hiking, camping, days at the beach, and going on amazing trips.
We asked Erik about his biggest takeaway from working at and with Music Mountain Theatre, and he responds that “If you are looking for a theatre that puts on an amazing production in a very short time frame, MMT is your place. Everyone works so hard here to make sure the productions are professional-level shows each and every time. The love and care that is taken with every show is not always visible to the outside person, but the end result is.”
We are grateful to have Erik as an acting Board member, company member, and part of our theatre community. Be sure to catch him as Captain Von Trapp this weekend in one of our final performances of The Sound of Music!