Billy Kiessling, a 2010 Brookfield Central graduate, has recently made his Broadway debut in Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812, which has been running since November of 2016. He’s worked incredibly hard to get to where he is, but he started small. In fact, he began by pursuing violin at Brookfield Central.

Eventually, his curiosity regarding the on-stage life was too much to bear, and he landed the role of Joe in The Pajama Game at BC, directed by none other than Mr. Tom Lueck. When asked what got him into musical theatre in the first place, he responded: “I think my first memory of wanting to be an actor happened in middle school. I was performing in the pit orchestra for The King and I, and I remember when we all came together, band and actors, I got to see up close what everyone on stage was doing, and I wanted to give it a go. The rest is history.”

Kiessling still plays the violin (as well as many other instruments including the viola, French horn, trumpet, piano, and ukulele) to this day alongside his Broadway career. He’s a man of many talents and he’s showing us that contrary to popular belief, the arts can, in fact, get you where you want to go in life. Kiessling encourages anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps to please do so.

When asked what it takes to better oneself as a performer to get to where he is, Kiessling insightfully stated, “if you’re looking to make a career in the Broadway community, it’s essential that you surround yourself around like minded artists and people whose work inspires you not just to be a better performer, but to be a better human being. The performing arts community is one of compassion, love, and acceptance to people of any gender, race, or sexual orientation, and for me, we need exist in a world where this lifestyle is the status quo worldwide.”

Kiessling is very excited about how far he’s come and he’d love for others to have the same feeling. If you’d like to keep up with Kiessling or contact him yourself, you can follow him on Twitter @buhbuhbilly or go to his website, www.billyjoekiessling.com.