Triple Threat: Performer Haley Ostir Does it All
Performer Haley Ostir is a multi-faceted powerhouse, one whose impressive mix of raw creative drive and sharply focused professional ambition elevate her to a rarified strata.
As a singer, actor and dancer, the New York-based Ostir is required to excel at the most demanding disciplines in the entertainment world. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’ve always focused on dance just as much as singing and acting,” Ostir said. “In my mind, this is what musical theatre is — they all are equally important and being a real triple threat is important to me.”
A native of Winnipeg in Manitoba Canada, Ostir was born to be a performer. At age 5, she started acting at the famed Manitoba Theatre For Young People, and at 6 enrolled in the acclaimed Shelley Shearer School of Dance, studying dance and musical theater. This surprisingly early start was due both to the child’s express wishes and an understanding, affectionate family.
“My dad has an obsession with making dreams come true,” Ostir said. “He’s always said that hard work pays off if you don’t give up and I’m so glad that my parents supported me in pursuing my dreams.”
A contract with Maine State Music Theatre proved to be critical — where she really passed the point of no return.
“I was hired for the entire season,” Ostir said. “We did 5 shows — ‘Grand Night for Singing,’ ‘Evita,’ ‘Mamma Mia,’ ‘Aladdin,’ and ‘Fiddler On The Roof.’ I got to perform my first principle role and it was also the first time I ever sang a solo in a professional theatre alongside Broadway actors in front of a sold out audience.”
That season provided an invaluable trove of highly significant professional experience. Haley played Fruma Sarah in ‘Fiddler’ under the direction of Broadway veteran Gary John LaRossa, alongside the award-winning talent Bill Nolte (Best Actor in a Musical in The Broadway World Audience Choice Awards), who played her ex-husband, Tevye. For Ostir, it was a dream come true and she made the most of it.
“I grew up that summer,” she said. “I found a new sense of professionalism that still shapes my behavior in how I act in a rehearsal or performance setting. I learned a lot and was lucky enough to be part of such an amazing company before I’d even graduated college.”
When Ostir returned to the Boston Conservatory where she earned a BFA in Musical Theatre, her newfound confidence accelerated an already high velocity momentum.
“Boston Conservatory had been my dream school from day one,” she said. “BoCo made you feel like you were getting a triple major in singing, dancing and acting — and I also got a sense of what ‘professionalism’ really meant.”
Following graduation, Ostir wasted no time in kick starting her career.
She made her New York debut appearing in ‘On 1 Condition: Supernatural,’ the well received series of delightfully offbeat and innovatively choreographed dance presentations.
“I was asked to be in Josh Walden’s piece at Dixon Place,” Ostir said. “This was my first NYC performance and it was super special because I got to perform with a good friend, Evan Kinanne, who is now in rehearsals for Broadway’s ‘Moulin Rouge.’”
Dance demands not only peak physical perfection but too a deeply artistic sensibility, one that enable the performer to both interpret and express subtle psychic truths through movement alone and Ostir excels at it. Her skills did not go unnoticed.
“Next thing I know I’m rehearsals on a
Broadway stage with the cast of Chicago and performing in a music video ‘Carols for a Cause’ next to all these Broadway stars and Cuba Gooding Jr.”
With this fast-moving start, Ostir quickly established herself as a force to be reckoned with, and she became a familiar, popular figure in the New York theater world.
She has performed in numerous professional shows including ‘Catch Me if You Can,’ ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ ‘Shrek’ and more.
Dividing her time between New York and Winnipeg, as a dancer she has won many 1st place trophies at the annual Canadian National Dance Championship competitions and numerous other juried recognitions and scholarships, including the “Be Discovered $1,000 Scholarship Award Broadway Bound New York City Intensive”, the Ken Peters Memorial Trophy for Most Memorable Performance, the Rainbow Stage Scholarship, the Ron Meyers Memorial Scholarship and the Manitoba Dance Festival Scholarship.
Ostir works constantly in almost every capacity as a professional performer. She has performed at the prestigious ICA Gala at Boston’s Waterfront Museum, appeared in music videos, PSA’s (among them ‘Musicals with a Message,’ under the direction of Mary John Frank, one of Vimeo’s ‘Groundbreaking Female Filmmakers to Watch’) and, as a background actor, in many films shot in Winnipeg.
Moreover, as a successful and well respected choreographer and teacher she shares her skils with young up-and-comers, even as she branches out with additional work behind the scenes.
“I teach ballet and tap at Main Street Theatre and Dance Alliance,” she said. “And I am currently serving as assistant director on ‘Theory of Relativity.’”
As a performer, Ostir’s dazzling capabilities and widely varied skill set operates at an almost kaleidoscopic level, yet she maintains perfect balance and executes each assignment with flawless precision and soul deep passion. She also demonstrates a remarkable generosity of spirit.
“If I’m not performing, I give back,” she said. “I constantly volunteer at Dream Street, a theatre company for adults on the autism spectrum. It reminds me of how lucky I am to do this every day.”
Ostir’s accomplishments are matched only by her ambition.
“I am very fortunate to have this amount of experience and success at my age,” she said. “My sights are set on Broadway next, and I won’t stop until I get what I’ve set my mind to. I don’t think you can ever stop growing so I’m excited to what’s next for my career.”
