“Anyone Can Sing” with Help from Former SLT Music Director Cynthia Lawrence Heister

Music educator and director Cynthia Lawrence Heister can turn anyone into a singer, and she has the track record to prove it. Many of her students have found themselves at callbacks to sing for a part they thought was out of reach.

“Anybody can sing. I hope you took that away being in my studio,” she reminded me as her former student. “Anyone can become a better singer.”

Heister spent two decades strengthening, encouraging, and sculpting vocal talent in the Ozarks. She lifted a generation of Springfield Little Theatre students who dreamed of a future in the arts.

Rather than selecting only the most talented singers for her studio, she was inclusive of anyone with an interest in music. Her approach, however, was targeted and customized for each individual voice.

“There’s always a space on the stage for all levels,” Heister emphasized. “I think that’s one of the things that I’m most proud of is the people that I worked with, the kids that I met along the way. Watching them grow and some of them go on to have a fabulous career in the arts. Others who just have a lifelong love for what they did and being a part of that. I’m still doing that today.”

After graduating from college, Heister began singing in St. Louis. The big city was demanding and financially challenging as a recent graduate in the arts. She relocated to Springfield and looked for performance opportunities. The lights of the Landers drew her in.

“Honestly, I didn’t know as much about the theatre until I got involved with it. I just knew that it was a beautiful building,” Heister laughed. “They did shows. So, I threw my hat in the ring. [THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN] DROOD was my first production there.”

Heister’s big voice and technical training landed her on the cast list. She cherishes the show for introducing her to lifelong friends.

She continued performing in SLT productions, including GODSPELL and THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS. Over time, she became more creatively involved, collaborating with other SLT performers in the community.

“Even during the time that I was performing, there were a lot of side gigs that we would put together like the murder mysteries,” she recalled. “We worked with Clary’s [restaurant] and other establishments in Springfield where we would write do cabaret shows. It would be a musical and a troupe of us – Sandee and David DePriest, Brooke Stephens, Derrick Jarvis, and Helen Traphagan.”

As Heister established her professional life in Springfield, she began teaching, which led her to establish her own voice studio and lead choir programs in the Ozark school district. Meanwhile, the theatre was looking to expand education programming. For decades, on stage opportunities for children had been scarce at SLT.

“At that time, they were developing the education program,” she explained. “I came into the picture when Dorothy [Lemmon] was doing education and we did all the summer workshops and developed, especially the preschool program and younger ages.”

This expansion into children’s programming came at the right time for Heister’s family. Her daughter, Emma, was born during a run of Summer Stages. She still jokes with friend and SLT Executive Director Beth Domann about accompanying a group of students on the piano while in labor. Once her daughter was born, it was natural to integrate her family into rehearsals.

“One thing that’s great about Springfield Little Theatre is that your whole family can be involved at whatever stage you are in your life,” Heister reflected. “When I was single, it was a lot of fun. I had the time. When I had Emma, she went with me. When I was directing shows, she would sit down at my feet and play with her Polly Pockets while we were on stage putting the show together.”

Heister credits SLT with giving her meaningful opportunities that were flexible as her own life grew and changed.

“I can’t describe the impact that the theatre has had on my life and shaping who I am. Not just as a performer, but being part of the community, a patron of the arts,” she praised. “The skills and the family and the community that I built still impacts me today. I walk in the door of the theatre, and I am immediately overcome with emotion being in that space.”

Throughout her time at SLT, Heister was involved in music directing and coordinating musicians for smaller productions on the – formerly – Vandivort stage and raucous roasts where local celebrities volunteered to be the butt of jokes for fundraisers.

When the late Grady Affolter fell ill ahead of PETER PAN auditions, he urged Heister to take his place as music director for the mainstage musical. Heister admits that she doubted herself, but she took the leap.

“He had encouraged me like, ‘You should do this.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know,’” she recalled. “I don’t know why after I had been involved for all those years, that seemed like a major jump for me to go to the mainstage. That began my collaboration with Beth and Lorianne [Dunn].”

After a chapter of performing, then another working in the education department, Heister moved solidly into mainstage music directing on productions like WIZARD OF OZ, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, ALWAYS, PATSY CLINE, and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

Eventually, Heister and her family relocated to Cincinnati where she was accepted into a Master’s program at the prestigious University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Heister recalls writing about her experience at SLT and admiration for its robust programming for her application essay.

“It’s just unbelievable to me that a city the size of Springfield can mount these types of productions,” Heister admired. “Draw the quality talent, not just from the performers, but everything. The set design, the lights, the technical design, the people working backstage, and it’s all volunteer. It just blows my mind the caliber of performers they continue to produce.”

Training at CCM prepared Heister for a new phase of her career. She began teaching in an urban district in Cincinnati and is now with School for Creative and Performing Arts. The building serves K-12 and is a public school focusing primarily on arts instruction. In addition to working in the vocal department, Heister serves as a collaborative pianist.

“I love what I do,” she gushed. “One of the greatest blessings in my life is that I’ve been continuously surrounded by incredibly talented people. All ages and different focuses. I’m just happy to be a part of that.”

Heister is now well established in Cincinnati with her husband, Jim. They recently traveled to Europe to visit Emma, who acquired her own master’s degree. Heister’s stepson, Nico, studies nearby at Xavier University.

She speaks about her life with a joyful peace, but she still occasionally heeds the call to visit SLT. Most recently, Heister visited to assist with a vocal workshop and returned this summer to give vocal guidance to the young actors in ANNIE.

“I was back in the spring for a bit. I did a vocal workshop. I had a couple kids sing for me, and I got up on my feet and did what I do with them,” Heister explained. “It was just really fun to work with those kids who are so hungry and want to learn. They pick up and they’ll try anything. It was a great day.”

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