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Chloë Angst discovered musical theater when she was 5, and hasn’t stopped singing since.
“The first show I was in was ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ then ‘The Wizard of Oz,'” recalled Angst, 28, who grew up in Vacaville.
Her whole family ended up getting involved.
“My dad still does some local theater in Vacaville,” Angst said. “And my sister is a singer. She travels around and does professional stuff.”
Angst was in musical theater in high school, as well as the choir, and then studied classical voice in college, but she wanted to find a career that was 9 to 5.
“I realized I am more the type of person who needed a job with a steady income,” Angst said.
She searched the internet and college courses for something that interested her, already thinking of embalming, which she had always found fascinating.
“Funeral Service Education” caught her eye, and American River College in Sacramento, where she lived at the time, was one of two embalming schools in the state. Its courses include biology, chemistry, embalming, restorative art and funeral service fundamentals.
Now Angst is employed as a licensed embalmer by Graham Hitch Mortuary, working in Pleasanton to manage all prep work operations for its four locations.
“I do everything behind the scenes,” she said. “I will embalm or do whatever preparations need to be done.”
But she hasn’t given up her singing or theatrical endeavors. Sometimes she will sing at funerals, including “Ave Maria,” “Over the Rainbow” or whatever the family requests.
“My mezzo soprano card is out front with all the funeral director business cards,” she said.
She more frequently entertains in community theater, including with Sunnyvale Community Players, Broadway by the Bay, City Lights Theatre Company, Los Altos Stage Company, Contra Costa Civic Theatre, Lamplighters Music Theatre and Pocket Opera.
Currently she is rehearsing for “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” being presented by Foothill Music Theatre and opening next Thursday in Los Altos Hills.
The mystery is based on the unfinished Charles Dickens novel of the same name. Angst plays the role of Drood, whose disappearance leads his friends, family and mysterious acquaintances to suspect foul play.
Everyone becomes a suspect in this Tony-winning musical whodunit, and the audience votes on who killed Drood, which means that the cast must prepare for multiple possible conclusions.
“There are over a hundred possibilities that could be the ending,” Angst explained. “It’s really cool.”
“Luckily my character is not one of the people who needs to learn many possible endings,” she added with a laugh.
Now she rushes to rehearsals after work, much as she rushed to practices after school as a child, and she noted that her two professions blend perfectly.
“I like to consider myself an artist in both my embalming career and my acting career,” she said. “Both take a lot of training and patience and lead to the end result of creating something beautiful for an audience to cherish.”
She said the Foothill Music Theatre company is “awesome.”
“I hadn’t worked with them before,” she said. “They are very on top of the scheduling and making things convenient for the actors.”
Performances are Feb. 27 to March 15, in the Lohman Theatre in Los Altos Hills. Tickets are $12-$36. Call (650) 949-7360 or visit www.foothill.edu/theatre.
“Drood is a fun character, because I play both a male and a female,” Angst said. “Each character in ‘Drood’ is an actor in an English music hall in the late 19th century.
“I portray Alice Nutting, who is acting as the character Edwin Drood,” she continued.
“I love playing gender-bent roles, and have even personally produced two gender-bent cabaret style shows this last year.”
Angst lives in Niles with her husband who, she mentioned, is extremely supportive of her theater endeavors but has no interest in joining her onstage.
She enjoys her drive through Niles Canyon each morning to reach Pleasanton.
“I’m an introvert and express myself either on stage or through the care of those who have passed on,” Angst said.
“I love what I do in both aspects of my life and couldn’t ask for more of a perfect balance. Life is busy, but it’s what I need to do to keep things interesting day by day.”
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Chloë Angst, left, portrays Edwin Drood along with (clockwise) The Chairman (John Mannion), Rosa Bud (Brenna Sammon) and Durdles (Linda Piccone) in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” presented by Foothill Music Theatre from Feb. 27-March 15 at the Lohman Theatre in Los Altos Hills. Photo by David Allen -
As for her day job, Angst is a licensed embalmer who works for Graham Hitch Mortuary, including at its Pleasanton location. (Photo by Ryan J. Degan) -
Angst remembering searching the internet and college courses for something that interested her, already thinking of embalming, which she had always found fascinating. (Photo by Ryan J. Degan)
