Minnesota Varsity: Erik Dagoberg

Instrument: Voice

Hometown: Plymouth, Minn.

Piece: Jeanine Tesori — What do I Need With Love; I Turned the Corner

Why do you love to perform?

As an actor, I love to perform because I love feeling the energy of the crowd. I love telling the story of my character and leaving the performance feeling like I taught the audience something, whether that be a life lesson, a historical or relatively unknown fact, or how to relax and have fun. The main job of an actor is to tell a story, and to have the audience forget where they are and become invested in it. I feel that if an audience member walks out of the performance and did not feel anything for at least half of the characters, that performance didn't go well. My goal for every performance is for each of the audience members to have feelings toward my character, whether they are good or bad (depending on whom the character is).

The two pieces I chose are contrasting songs sung by the same character, Jimmy, in Thoroughly Modern Millie. The first, What Do I Need with Love, is an upbeat song sung when Jimmy is fighting over if he wants to keep his carefree, girl filled life, or if he wants to leave it for Millie, the protagonist in the show who he slowly falls in love with. The second piece, I Turned the Corner, is when Jimmy tells her he has feelings for her, and that he is changed for the better because of her. I chose these pieces because they are incredibly fun to sing, and showcase my range in singing.