Blog

Brontae Hunter has known right from the start what she is meant to do. At three years old her mother took her to see the Lion King in Toronto and she remembers “just wanting to be there [on stage] so bad.” After seeing the classic musical Hunter “begged and begged and begged to do a show” Her determination paid off as Hunter appeared in her first performance at the local Kincardine theatre in A Christmas Carol. Hunter laughs as she recalls running on stage and dancing around, “I loved it. I was just super at home and it felt so natural to me.” Not much has changed, as the determined and hardworking young performer continues to wow with her talent and passion.

That passion and determination Hunter showed as a child has been present throughout her young career. After her Christmas Carol debut, Hunter started in community theatre in her native Kincardine and Drayton Theatre in plays like Oliver and Annie. As she got older, Hunter got an agent and began auditioning in Toronto. Most recently Hunter performed at the Summer Folk Festival in Owen Sound.

A Factory163 favourite, Hunter also recently performed in a cabaret developed by herself and long time friend and fellow performer, Aveleigh Keller. The cabaret, The Women of Broadway and Beyond, also featured Val Hawkins and Gabi Epstein. Hunter noted that she “loved the venue, because there is art everywhere”, adding, “to know that this is such a supportive, creative hub it’s just a really cool vibe when you come in.”

Hunter’s drive to improve her craft has always been present. Hunter has taken acting, singing and dance lessons for years. She has always loved learning and taking lessons, “For me I always need to be creating, if I’m not I just feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. Taking lessons is sort of an outlet for me.”

Recently Hunter took part in the three-week Theatre Performance Intensive with the Stratford Festival which she described as “incredible.” Hunter raved about getting to “connect with and learn from really, really, great people.”

Hunter has also been able to combine her talent in performance arts with her passion for social justice. At age twelve Hunter held a benefit concert for Haiti and the water crisis in Somali. Last January Hunter organized a performance to raise money for the Native Women’s Association of Canada. That performance, developed and organized by Hunter, involved 21 performers ranging from indigenous dancer to a smudging session. In the future Hunter is hoping to organize one or two projects a year benefiting such a worthy cause.

The future looks bright for the talented young performer, as Hunter applies for post secondary theatre school. In the meantime, look for Hunter performing as she she “wants to continue to do more of my own projects, that I write” and we can’t wait to see them.

Check out more of Brontae’s work on her Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.

You can also see a clip of her performance at Factory163 here.