St. Charles teen, acting since he was 7, dreams of Broadway

13-year-old St. Charles resident Kai Edgar has been gracing stages since he was 7 and the young, self-described extrovert has big dreams for his future.

Kai Edgar turned 13 in March this year, and has already performed in eight professional theatre shows, including a national tour where he played Charlie in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” four operas, a couple co-star roles in television series including an episode of “Chicago Fire,” and voiceover roles in animated series on Disney and Nickelodeon.

“There’s nothing like performing live on a stage and seeing the audience’s reactions in real time...Having all the energy of everybody in one room, it empowers me in a way.”

—  Kai Edgar

Kai is not the only Edgar who has taken a shining to the world of theatre. His sister Kalea, a student at St. Charles North High School, was the first in the family to take the stage, and his younger brother Kanoa is also getting into the performing world, currently in the midst of recording for a voiceover role.

Kai Edgar said he first fell in love with the stage while watching Kalea and her friends perform in community theater productions. His first roles were in community productions with his sister at age 7, and his first professional role was at 8 years old, when he was cast as Oliver in “Oliver!” at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.

This month, Kai and Kalea are back performing together for the first time since he was 7 in Merideth Wilson’s “The Music Man” at the Marriott Theatre. Kai is playing Winthrop Peru and his sister is part of the ensemble.

“I love her so much, and I’m really happy that we get to see each other every single day and do what we love,” Kai Edgar said. “It’s really nice because my mom usually has to drive us all to different places, but now that we’re doing the same show it gets a lot easier, and also I get somebody to talk to about the show.”

Kai Edgar is a seventh grader, and has been homeschooled for the past two years. He said he made the switch to homeschooling because touring across the country was making middle school difficult. He said when he is in shows out of state, his grandparents are often with him to help out his parents, who always fly out for at least a few days to see him perform.

Shannon Edgar, Kai’s mother, said most days, each of her children are performing in something different, so with the help of the grandparents, they’ve had to “divide and conquer” in order to keep up and get the kids to where they need to be.

“There’s no better feeling as a parent than watching them light up while doing what they love.”

—  Shannon Edgar

Shannon Edgar said her kids’ love for performing started when they were really little. They grew up doing Polynesian dancing with the Hōkūle’a Academy of Polynesian Arts in Chicago. and she said it wasn’t long before they started asking to perform in shows and began doing youth community theater.

Kai Edgar said while his mother had been in school theater productions in high school, he and his siblings are the first in the family to perform professionally. He said besides looking up to his sister, his godfather Eltony Williams is an actor in California and has been a major role model in his life.

Shannon Edgar said when they started getting into acting, the family really had no idea about the industry or how it worked, so the process has been a tremendous learning experience.

“There’s no better feeling as a parent than watching them light up while doing what they love. It’s great,” Shannon Edgar said. “It’s a gift that they have and they get to break barriers in some ways, being Micronesian performers and showing other kids that look like them that they can be represented on stage and on TV. I think its really important and we’re very proud of them, obviously.”

Kai Edgar said one of his favorite roles so far was playing Ralphie in “A Christmas Story,” which he said had been a dream role of his since he was 9. He said in every role he’s had, getting to know the crew and cast and learning from them is always one of his favorite parts.

“I love seeing the reactions from the audience, but I think the number one thing is meeting and learning from all of the amazing crew members, directors and people on stage with me,” Kai Edgar said.

Kai Edgar will perform in his first movie this summer, an independent film in Chicago, which he said he is super excited about. He said the transition from theater to film will be very different, as on stage he is performing the same lines every show but in filming, once they’ve shot a scene they’re done.

With experience performing in film, opera, television and theater, Kai Edgar said his favorite will always be theater.

“There’s nothing like performing live on a stage and seeing the audience’s reactions in real time,” Kai Edgar said. “You don’t get to make as many connections when you’re doing a voiceover or a movie, as you would when you’re seeing a brand new pack of 200 people every single day while you’re on stage.

“Every single day there’s new people to see in the audience that have different reactions. I’m very extroverted and I’ve always been that way. Having all the energy of everybody in one room, it empowers me in a way.”

Kai said while performing on Broadway is an obvious goal for anyone in theatre, he is also fascinated by the creative side of production and one of his major goals for the future is to direct his own show.

“Ever since I was like 5, I’ve always wanted to be on Broadway, and I hope that eventually I am able to be,” Kai Edgar said. “I just want to keep meeting new people and learning from them.”