This is the second of a three-part series that focuses on siblings Caleb (a senior) and Kensington (a sophomore) Van Hook and their vast experience performing in live musical and theatrical productions nationwide since they were children. The first story focused on the latest project the Van Hooks have been cast in and how they started in the live theater circuit. In this story, copy editor Serenity Li profiles the older sibling and whether he plans to stick with the entertainment business for his college and career goals.
Senior Caleb Van Hook knows the importance of movement on stage in front of a live audience.
In the comedy-musical “Bye Bye Birdie,” watch for how often Van Hook gestures with his arms and hands as he exclaims with exasperation at one point, “Kids these days.” Then see how he captures the audience’s attention as he tries to hog the “camera” during a taping of a scene for the “Ed Sullivan” show.
Last year, he even zoomed around the aisles throughout the theater seats with an aviator’s hat and googles, playing Scuttle in “The Little Mermaid.”
“Caleb is so in character — from his voice to his movements, he really brings the stereotypical ‘1950’s dad’ to life,” said sophomore Abigail Veyna, one of his fellow “Bye, Bye Birdie” cast mates. “He has great comedic timing and musicality.”
Junior Gwyneth Morrell was among those who attended one of the opening weekend shows of “Bye Bye” Friday, Nov. 8-Sunday, Nov. 10, at Hope International University in Fullerton.
“I thought the performance was fun, exciting and entertaining; the humor was great and the actors were extremely talented,” said Morrell, who watched “Bye Bye” on Sunday, Nov. 10. “Caleb was hilarious, as per usual, and [his sister’s] acting and singing in the lead role was amazing.”
This weekend, Van Hook continues his “Bye, Bye Birdie” performance as Harry McAfee as part of the Spero Program for the Performing Arts adaptation of the 1963 Broadway production. This will also be the senior’s last year performing in children’s theater organizations like Spero.
“I’m really sad because I’ve always done children’s theater since I was 6, and I’ve really loved the past few years,” he said. “When I was young, I really looked up to the teenagers, and for the past few years, I’ve gotten to be that person for the kids.”
So far, his children’s theater resumé spans a variety of roles in over 30 performances ranging from Bert in “Mary Poppins” to Buddy in “Elf: The Musical” to Puck in William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night Dream.” Out of the 30, the senior said he acted in a lead role twice: as Buddy in 2023 and as Bert earlier this year.
And, as of Tuesday, Nov. 12, he has been cast for the first time as the Nutcracker in the Dec. 19-22 dance production of the winter holiday classic of the same name. Van Hook will be performing in the Whittier Center Theatre in Whittier, where Claylees Dance Academy now operates from.
“We actually need to tone up, if that’s a real phrase, our gestures to make it very clear to the audience what is going on because we can’t use words. … It has been an exciting process because I’ve never done a full ballet before,” he said.
CENTER STAGE
Van Hook said he developed the confidence to go on stage after taking theater classes in 2012 when he was around 5 years old living in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“I saw my [older] brother in an acting class and I, being the little brother I was, wanted to do it for myself,” he said. “I wanted to be the Crocodile [in a 15-minute version of ‘Peter Pan’].”
And it was a year later at 6 years old when he took center stage to perform in a drama.
At the time, he was living in South Bend, Indiana, where his father was attending Notre Dame to get his PhD in political theory and constitutional studies.
The South Bend Civic Theatre was staging an adaptation of the children’s book series, “The Boxcar Children,” by Gertrude C. Warner. Like with the original source material, the play focuses on four orphaned children who decide to live in a boxcar in the woods than for the government to put them into a foster home.
Van Hook said he ended up playing the role of Benny, the youngest of the four kids.
“Since my first show, I just latched onto it,” he said. “I love all aspects of theater: the directing, acting, stage management, choreographing – all of it.”
The senior said he then got cast as Chip, a teacup, in the musical “Beauty and the Beast Jr.,” a kids version of the Disney classic that was also staged at the South Bend Civic Theater.
Besides his early desire to follow in his brother’s footsteps, the Broadway musical, “Wicked,” became an inspiration for the aspiring professional actor when he watched it at 7 years old.
“When I saw the Broadway show … and figured out that you could be paid to act, the rest was history,” the senior said. “I really poured myself into gaining important theater skills – dance, acting, and vocal training – to be the best I could be.”
Three years later in 2016, the Van Hooks moved back to Colorado because the senior’s father found a job working at the Air Force Academy, where he flew planes and taught as a professor, Van Hook said.
During that time, he said he participated in Colorado Springs’ Academy of Children’s Theatre classes and joined their productions of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” as Edmund’s understudy and “Willy Wonka” as Augustus Gloop. He also performed in other musicals like Mary Poppins, Music Man and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for such production companies as the Colorado Ballet Society and ACT II.
Then in 2021, the family eventually settled in Southern California after Van Hook’s dad secured a job at La Mirada’s Biola University as an assistant director of recruitment and marketing and a Torrey associate professor. That’s also when he enrolled at Sunny Hills High School as a freshman.
The now senior said he learned early on that he had an advantage being one of the few boys joining a children’s theater troupe. In fact, that’s how he got cast to play the lead role in that brief “Peter Pan” adaptation at the Academy of Children’s Theatre in Colorado Springs.
“A ton of my friends in theater are girls, and it’s nice because it’s not like if [they] get this role, I won’t get this role,” Van Hook said.
Also in 2021 was when he got connected with Spero, performing as Scarecrow in its adaptation of the “Wizard of Oz.”
ENTER STAGE LEFT
Van Hook first joined the school’s theater program in his freshman year when he auditioned to enroll in English and theater teacher Christian Penuelas’ Theater 2 and 3 class.
“He performed a monologue, and I just remember thinking he was very talented and professional,” Penuelas said. “I could tell he had theatrical experience.”
Van Hook also joined the SH improv team in 2023, the beginning of his junior year; besides polishing on his acting skills on campus, the senior said he didn’t mind being the rare male student in a predominantly female class for Dance 2 in his freshman year and Dance 3 from sophomore year to this school year.
Dance teacher Leiana Volen said she has seen Van Hook’s development over the years.
“Everything that he does he goes so full out and so committed with [his] growth, and his confidence, and his technique and his performance,” Volen said. “He started [being] capable of doing just one genre of dance, and now he’s really branched out, and he’s a way more diverse dancer now.”
The dance instructor added that Van Hook was awarded “Mr. Congeniality” in his class because of his friendliness. Though the senior is among two male students in dance, he doesn’t have an advantage or disadvantage compared to other dancers.
“I think it is pretty cool to be one of the only guys in dance,” Van Hook said. “I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone and especially the other guys [from last year’s class] because it feels like we have a special bond because there are so few of us.”
In his sophomore year, he said he decided to audition for the SH spring musical of “The Sound of Music” for the role of Uncle Max, but Penuelas cast him as Rolf Gruber instead.
“I was disappointed at first, but as time goes on you learn to accept your part, enjoy the moments you have and put on a great show,” Van Hook said.
EXIT STAGE RIGHT
As of last month, Van Hook said he has applied as a theater/musical theater major to a variety of private colleges nationwide – Abilene Christian University in Texas, Belmont University in Tennessee, Cal Baptist University in Riverside and Syracuse University in New York. Out of 50 colleges on his list, he said he did research to find which colleges were the best fit for him.
“My top colleges really just stood out to me more than all the others; my top school, Abilene Christian University, really just bubbled to the top of the list,” the senior said. “I am a Christian, and I think it is very important to get that strong faith backing as I head out into the rest of my life and into my chosen profession, so that is one of the reasons it is my top school.”
Michelle Van Hook said she has seen her son’s hard work over the years to improve in all aspects of stage performance.
“He was already gifted in acting and singing, but he has worked for years on his dancing and so it’s been so fun seeing that come through as an equal strength,” their mother said.
Penuelas also has high hopes for his student, who is in the instructor’s fourth period Theater 3 class.
“He’s definitely someone who I can absolutely see working in [the theater] industry,” said the theater teacher, who plans to see “Bye Bye Birdie” on either Friday, Nov. 15, or Saturday, Nov. 16. “I would not be surprised to see him [at] a professional show 5-10 years from now.”
Sophomore Leah Nyberg, who has been friends with Van Hook since they performed in Sunny Hills Youth Theater’s adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” in July 2023, has nothing but praise for the senior’s acting abilities.
“I think it’s crazy seeing Caleb on stage; he’s really good at getting into character,” Nyberg said. “I don’t see Caleb; I see whatever role he’s playing, and he can still make me laugh even if I’ve seen the show 100 times.”
Caleb Van Hook, who acknowledged his family and past directors as his biggest supporters, said he plans to use his talent to share fun and powerful stories on stage. He also regards it as an opportunity to share his faith in God to others.
Among all Broadway musicals, the senior said his favorite is “Mary Poppins,” but he also likes “Newsies” because of its emphasis on dance and strong vocals.
“I have always wanted to be in ‘Newsies’ on Broadway; I would just want to be a dancer, but that show just has such a special place in my heart,” said Caleb Van Hook, who first performed in the Sunny Hills Youth Theater’s adaptation of it in 2022. “It would be so cool to be my [Broadway] debut. I would also love the chance to be Bert in ‘Mary Poppins’ and ensemble in ‘Wicked’ and ‘Hairspray,’ [and] I think all of those shows would be a dream come true.”
Those interested in watching the Van Hooks’ performance in “Bye Bye Birdie” can purchase $15 tickets from the Spero website. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.
