Everyone has a unique voice. For Kirsten Lundin Humer, MFA, the power of voice has inspired her to keep following the sound of the journey God’s called her on. That journey is one of traveling the world to be immersed in the world of theater, creating her own voice coaching business, and now celebrating over a decade teaching what she loves in Azusa Pacific University’s theater arts program.
Originally from a Chicago suburb, Humer was surrounded by art growing up. Her father was a literature professor, and her mother was a graphic designer. Humer fondly remembers her father creating stories every night for his kids and having an appreciation for creativity. When she was 13-years-old, Humer and her family traveled to London, and they watched The Wild Duck on the West End. “I loved the show and my dad saw how moved I was, so he took me to see it again,” Humer said. “There was such an amazing actor in the show, and her performance made me want to be an actor.” Humer’s passion for words and stories that touch the heart led her to love acting for the ways it employs language to act as a mirror showing the human experience.
Humer went to Wheaton College to study English and French, where she performed in plays all four years, under the tutelage of renowned acting teacher Mark Lewis. During college, Humer spent a summer in New York to study acting at Michael Howard Studios in the summer. When she earned a scholarship to participate in a program in France, Humer packed her bags and became enthralled by Parisian culture, quickly becoming fluent in French. She studied political science and history while interning at an acting agency.
Living outside the U.S. provided Humer with an understanding of theater that can be difficult to grasp in the states. “Especially in England, there’s a sense of history to the performing arts. People don’t get famous as quickly as they do here and they have to build toward their career over time,” she said. Her faith was also deepened as she faced challenges, both in the states and abroad in the theater industry. “I firmly believe people want to worship something, and if it’s not God, what will it be? I know my identity in Christ, therefore I’m not swayed when I witness others grappling with an intense desire for fame.”
Humer went on to earn her MFA in Acting and Directing at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she met Louis Colaianni, who profoundly influenced her approach to acting, voice, and teaching. Colaianni is a renowned voice teacher who developed Phonetic Pillows, a tactile approach to teaching phonetics and dialects. Humer is certified in Colaianni Speech, and enjoys coming up with creative ways to teach students about how to use their unique voices to provide an individualized approach to acting. She also studied with Patsy Rodenburg, one of the premier voice and acting coaches in the world and became certified in her technique. Humer is one of the first eight Rodenburg teachers in the U.S.
After graduating with her MFA, Humer lived in New York as a full time working actor. She met her husband, a fellow actor, and they moved to Boston for his work. When Humer began her vocal coaching business, she made connections that led her to fully pursue her career in the field of voice. Through her consultancy Vocal Point Partners, Kirsten worked with professional actors, doctors, lawyers, and corporate professionals on the art of the voice, presence and public speaking.
One day Humer was at a birthday party for one of her son’s friends, and she was inspired by a parent who had become a principal. “I felt it on my heart that God was telling me to teach full time, so I searched for teaching jobs in acting and the first thing that popped up was a position at APU,” she said. Humer was filled with excitement when the job description listed everything she loves, from phonetics, to voice, and faith-integrated approaches to theater.
In 2013, Humer and her family moved across the country to Los Angeles and embarked on a new journey. Looking back on the past 11 years, Humer can’t help but get emotional thinking of where God led her. “I see all the twists and turns, the times I felt like my life was leading nowhere, and I thank God for the way he gave me all these random passions to now be something cohesive.”
The students make Humer’s job worthwhile. “They take their work seriously, and they’re respectful, loving, and supportive of one another,” she said. At the foundation of it all, Humer attributes the quality and fruitfulness of APU’s theater program to keeping God at the forefront. “Acting is an art that can point toward God, because by displaying the truth of human experience, we reveal the importance of grace and redemption in our lives and relationships.”
Humer continues to thank God for a role that allows her to build connections with others and help create beautiful productions. “How can it be that I have a job where I can geek out about sounds, words, and connection? To not only include faith in that, but to make it the heart of what we do is incredible.”