Ryan Hunek (left) and Logan Schultz (right) perform a guitar and vocals duet at the Pine View Choir Cabaret in 2020. PHOTO COURTESY OF LOGAN SCHULTZ
Every year, twelfth-graders Logan Schultz and Ryan Hunek participate in a Venice Theater classic: “A Christmas Carol.” After years of working alongside each other on theatric productions, the only acting is in their characters, not their friendship. Having performed in the variety show together twice, the two share a music account on Instagram where they record covers and songs they have written together. In this interview, we asked them to look back on their distance they’ve traveled and forward to the future.
How did you first get involved in theater?
Ryan Hunek: Well, my aunt Melissa Hunek … was involved in theater and specifically at Venice for a while. She and my grandpa both kind of nudged me to do [“A Christmas Carol”] in second grade, and that was the first show I auditioned for. And since then, I’ve been doing stuff at the theater.
Logan Schultz: My mom actually works at Venice Theater, she’s the publications director. So, I’ve been doing classes there since I can remember. And I was in first grade when I was told to do “Christmas Carol.”
What is the community like at Venice Theater, and how would you describe your connection with it?
RH: It’s great. Everyone there has always been really, really welcoming. I wouldn’t still be there after so many years if they weren’t. It is a lot like a family. I’m sure it’s more like that with Logan because his mom works there. Like, coming back [after COVID two years later] feels almost like coming home. It’s a really nice feeling.
LS: I essentially grew up there. When I was really young, I’d spend full summers there just in the building running around and stuff …Their priority is always to make sure that everyone feels welcomed and included and that everyone’s actively participating. It’s also just extended out because you forge these connections with people that expands far beyond what you do there … [Ryan and I] both started here in Pine View in sixth grade. He was one of the only people I even knew.
Doing “Christmas Carol” again but moving up on the cast list — what is that like?
RH: It’s a good way to gauge how far we’ve grown, like how much older we are … There are several of us who could walk on stage and play any role. You told us what role to play, we could just do it.
Do you have any insight to offer on the relationship between dedication and progress in performing arts?
LS: Try things. We both started really getting into music and just trying out different instruments and things. That’s really important to find what you like, what your niche is. And even within theater itself, sometimes you might be better at singing or dancing. I’m not great at it either. But I still enjoy it. And that’s what’s important. And I can accept that I’m not the best of these things and find something else in the vein of theater that I enjoy and might even be better at … You should go for it because it can open up great opportunities, like Carol has opened for us.
How has being in the theatre — both performing and being part of the community — affected you and your life?
RH: I think that the specific environment at Venice [Theatre], really encourages you to be open to a wider range of ideas than you would normally be exposed to … and then being open to new ideas, and also being able to separate your work from your emotions, and also being able to put them together when applicable … You can’t let the way you feel interfere with how your character feels. You might have grudges on someone offstage, but when you get up there, you have to put all that aside.
LS: Specifically with theatre, it does encourage you to be more in touch with yourself, your emotions, and your self assessment in general. Because you need to determine for yourself whether you think you’d be willing and able to do certain things.
Similarly, how has being friends/sharing this activity through all those years affected your life?
RH: In all honesty, at the start, we were very bitter with each other. We were not nice. But I think like I said earlier, the whole family aspect of everything and how you just feel a pull towards everyone else there … We have a connection that other people don’t have with us, like we can complain about what happened at rehearsal, we can talk about something cool that happened there. And the same goes with any extracurricular activity, but I think theater specifically because it is so welcoming. You never really feel like you’re the odd one out; it just encourages growth of relationships.
LS: The fact that we did theater together for a long time then started doing school and theater together — we have so many more common experiences than most people do … It was just a level of comfort with people that you don’t often get. And it’s definitely nice … I mean, it is a lot like family, you know the other person, how they’re feeling sometimes without talking. You know, we have our disagreements — like Ryan kind of has a hard time showing his emotion sometimes. I have a hard time not showing my emotions sometimes. Family mentality. Everyone fights. We’re like an old married couple. There’s no such thing as a perfect relationship. But I’d say it’s definitely better than most.
Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give yourself from 9 years ago?
RH: Be nice to people. Don’t put your problems on other people, ask for help, of course, if you need it. But if you’re struggling with something, and you’re frustrated, and your solution is to make someone else frustrated, as well, you’re getting nowhere. And I think I did that a lot. And now that I’ve noticed that, I feel a lot better about interacting with people.
LS: You’re never the first person to go through what you’re going through. Like, I remember when I was younger, I would I would look at people that were our age [thinking], “How do they have all their stuff together? … How are they managing all this?” And I feel like I’m having such a hard time. The odds are people are also struggling, even if you can’t tell. So just keep that in mind, and don’t feel like you are incapable just because you’re having a hard time juggling everything that you’re doing. Just chill out.
A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 17, 2021, Entertainment, Page 9, of The Torch with the headline: Best friends reflect on growth and dedication.
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