It was during the spring semester of her senior year in high school when sophomore theater acting major Haley Sue Pearson was told she would never sing again.
Pearson developed open wounded blisters on her vocal chords that, if not taken care of, would leave her unable to sing in full voice and with a full range.
“Thankfully by the grace of God that is not what happened,” Pearson said.
After nine years of vocal training with the Brentwood and Franklin Performing Arts Academy, six years of musical theater experience, and having just made the decision to pursue theater as a career, this news devastated and empowered the then 18-year-old.
“I came to Lipscomb and I worked for it anyway; I started taking better care of my voice and being intentional with every move I made,” Pearson said.
Beki Baker, chair of the department of theatre, recommended Pearson to Bonnie Keen. Keen was a Pop-Christian singer in the 90’s and is a founding member of the acclaimed recording trio “First Call.”
She continues to perform as a Nashville artist and mentors young performers like Pearson as well. The two began working together during Pearson’s freshman year.
“She has been my saving grace, guardian angel on earth,” Pearson said. “Partially because she’s just a wonderful human being, partially because she breathes Jesus and His love openly, and partially because she gives me a place to just sing, which is more of a gift than most people understand.”
Working with Keen and continuing to take care of her voice has helped Pearson land roles in the department, the Nashville community and, as of recently, on a cruise line.
Keen approached Pearson about auditioning for Kathy Traccoli, another popular Pop-Christian artist in the 90’s, during the summer of 2015 and possibly accompanying her on a cruise. Keen was producing a Broadway night on the boat and thought Pearson would be a match for the group Traccoli envisioned.
After hearing a recording of Pearson’s performance, Tracolli added her to the list of guest artists for the cruise, Feb. 6-13. Joining her was Graham Keen, Darci Wantiez and Jonathan Riggs.
Together with Tracolli, the group made up “The Broadway Bandits.”
“We came up with that name during the first night on the cruise,” Pearson said. “For our Broadway Review Night, we did an entire hour and a half of Broadway songs and mash-ups.
“Darci and I did an eight-minute mashup of all the Disney songs you could think of that have been on or off Broadway. It was a duet battle, trying to see who could out-sing the other.”
Tracolli had her own section of the cruise with roughly 250 people in attendance. All appearances and performances took place in The Queen’s Lounge, including a morning devotional led by Chris Britt, who presented and acted out the book of Matthew from memory.
“One of my favorite nights by far was when we did communion at midnight on the open deck,” Pearson said. “Jesus met us in the middle of the ocean. There’s something about worshipping together but also having people around you that understand the life you live as an artist; the love that you have for each other is unlike any other.”
Because of the cruise, Pearson now has performance connections in Nashville, New York and other cities across the country.
It wasn’t just the exposure or the name-recognition that made the cruise worthwhile for Pearson; it was the connections she made with fellow performers and Christ-followers.
“Not only did it give me great connections, but it also reminded me that I was given a gift, and I was given a joy that I refuse not to use,” Pearson said. “The goal of my life is to get to the end of it and be able to look back and say that I have exhausted every talent that has ever been given to me and that I’ve taken every opportunity and ran with it.
“And that I used it all for the glory and through the love of God and I have nothing left to give.”
Photos courtesy of Haley Sue Pearson