ABOUT LAURA

​Family recognized Laura Elisabeth Ulrich’s talent as she scatted along to “Lullaby of Birdland” before she could speak. Since then she has dazzled on stage and behind the scenes, performed on national and international stages, and led classes and workshops on her craft. She is so versatile – whether she is singing a Mozart aria, teaching vocals for youth musical productions, operating sound design for a production, or taking on dual roles as assistant director and a character role – that she has literally won an “Is There Anything You Can’t Do?” award.

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Laura’s early training included performing with North Central Louisiana Masterworks Chorus Young Singers – she auditioned at age eight with an acapella rendition of “Seek Ye First” – and diving into musical theatre at her “childhood home,” Strauss Theatre, under the guidance of Cathy Airhart Webb and Chris Ringham. She took the stage in 20 productions 1996-2004 and worked backstage on six. Laura then shined on campus and beyond during college at Louisiana Tech with the vocal training of Dr. Laura Thompson. She excelled in campus ensembles and productions, won regional competitions, and earned coveted invitations to perform on both the Louisiana Composer’s Consortium Concert Series and the Robert E. Cheatham Honors Recital three years running.

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In 2006 Laura traveled to Austria with Louisiana Tech Chamber Singers to perform in the International Mozart Festival. She flew back to Europe in 2007. Destination: Italy and the Rome Opera Festival. Originally slated to be an Italian actress’s understudy for Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro directed by Fritz Maraffi, Laura won the role for herself! Back in America, Laura continued to wow at local and national events (you can look her up singing in CNN's  archives!) before graduating with a Bachelor of General Studies degree with a minor in vocal performance in 2009. She then studied psychology at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and continued refining her voice with world-renowned performer, Dr. Louis Nabors. In 2010, Laura performed in Star Wars: in Concert in Bossier City with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Dirk Brossé. She earned her master’s degree the following year and took a break from performing to work in healthcare and with non-profits.

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But Laura’s love for the arts would not be denied. She returned in 2018 by reuniting with Cathy Airhart Webb at CA Studio. Finding herself at home again in the spotlight and behind the curtains, she performed in over a dozen productions over the following two years until COVID shut theatres down mid-production. Laura certainly wasn't unaffected... But she didn't let it stop her. She went on to hold the role of Lady Macbeth in a Zoom variant of Macbeth followed by Mrs. Bucket in Willy Wonka, The Nurse in Shakespeare in Love, and the manic role of RM Renfield in Dracula. 

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Now she is actively teaching through her private studio.

Despite limitation, no matter the unforeseen obstacle, with all of her heart and soul, Laura is seizing opportunities to conjure fantastic experiences and channel her dynamic talent and passion into what fills her heart – her favorite team sport – theatre.