PM: What is your full name, where did you grow up? how old are you?
KLB: Kolby Lamont Bates, I am 20 years old and grew up in Wernersville, Pa.
PM: What school or schools have you attended?
KLB: Conrad Weiser East Elementary, Conrad Weiser Middle School, Conrad Weiser High School, New York University (NYU Steinhardt).
PM: If in school now what’s your major? What are your dreams & goals?
KLB: I am currently studying vocal performance with a concentration in musical theater. My dream is to be a Broadway performer. However, I would also include screen and TV actors, recording artists, and producers. One of my goals would be to make it to Broadway right out of college, but I would also like to be a part of a national tour for a show as well. Another goal would be to make music full-time. I have recently found a love for making my music and I would not mind that being my job away from the stage.
PM: Tell us a bit about yourself before you become too famous to answer our questions.
KLB: Well, when I was about three years old, I told my parents I wanted to become an actor when I grew up. I always enjoyed watching movies and analyzing what the actors were doing. I just knew it was what I saw myself doing because it looked so fun. Fortunately, I was also surrounded by music for my whole life. My dad Ira Lamont Bates was either constantly practicing his bass or my mom Donna would be singing Bruno Mars, Akon, and John Legend before she would go to work in the morning. So naturally I found an interest in music as well.
I started to dabble with drums, piano, clarinet, and guitar, but I gravitated more toward singing after I joined the chorus in fourth grade. I then joined a dance studio and began taking hip hop, more specifically breaking. I found a passion for dance, and I try to incorporate it into everything I do now. I did not start any stage performing until I was in the sixth grade. The first show that I did was Suessical Jr. where I played one of the Wickersham Brothers. It was not until the following year when I was in Cinderella Glass Slipper that I knew I wanted to pursue theater as a career. I remember coming out to my mom’s car after the last show and I was so happy I was sobbing. I told my mom that this was what I wanted to do with my life.
Since then, I continued to sing, dance, and perform. I then applied to NYU and was lucky enough to get in. Now, after moving to NYC I’ve performed at various cabaret venues, such as 54 Below and The Greenroom 42, I’ve assistant directed 2 of our theater club shows, I originated a role in a workshop for a new musical, I’m currently preparing to rehearse for my schools next main stage production, and after going to London for a class trip last March I’ve begun producing, writing, and recording my own music. I try to stay busy, but in my free time, I like to explore restaurants, play video games, make beats, catch up on shows, and spend time with my friends, family, and dogs.
PM: If you could see yourself in 5 or 10 years where and what would you be doing?
KLB: I see myself being in a Broadway show and when I am not performing on stage, I hope to become a successful artist. I would love to either start my record label or be acquired by The Weeknd’s label, XO.
PM: Any advice for the youth about living their daydream?
KLB: Do not let anybody tell you that you cannot achieve your dreams. If you can dream it, you can do it. In high school, I read the book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore. It details the story of two kids with the same name, from the same neighborhood who both went down two completely different paths. One of them says to the other when they finally meet, “We are the product of our expectations.” I tell myself that every day we are the only ones who can either limit ourselves or determine what our destiny is. Follow me @kolbylamontbates
Palo Magazine
Photo Credits:
One was taken in the lobby of the NYU Steinhardt Education building, one was taken in the dressing room at 54 Below, and the stage photos are from a workshop of Heartbreaker’s in Hell, a workshop musical by Joey Contreras and Benjamin Halstead.
