If you make it to the Santa Claus finale of today's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, you might see a familiar face among the 60 performers.
Ian Nelson of Winston-Salem has performed in several area shows, from Piedmont Opera's Amahl and the Night Visitors to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Forsyth Country Day School, where he is an eighth-grader. So he already has hundreds of fans.
He will have the chance to garner many, many more when he sings and dances in the annual extravaganza, which an estimated 65 million viewers will watch on NBC stations nationwide. Ian said he felt "ecstatic" when he learned that he would help conclude a spectacle that includes iconic floats, Broadway performances, gigantic balloons and elite marching bands.
"I just love to perform," Ian said. "It's a new venue and a whole new type of performance. I'm looking forward to it."
The finale -- Ian said he is dedicating it to Pop Pop, his maternal grandfather -- is scheduled to be presented at 11:50 a.m. The parade will start at 9. Ian said that the finale performers must arrive at the parade area by 6:45 a.m. So they will have a long wait ahead of them before they make their presentation. But even that should have some neat perks.
"We'll be in a little heated room where we can relax with cast members of Broadway shows and Rockettes dancers," Ian said.
Ian's journey to show business in New York began this past summer when he attended a three-week session of the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in Loch Sheldrake, N.Y., which has trained the likes of actors Natalie Portman and Robert Downey Jr. Ian would like to follow in their footsteps.
"I've figured out that theater is really what I want to do," he said. "I love the rush when you get on stage, and I love telling a story. The energy on stage … is really exciting."
While at Stagedoor, Ian played Baby John in West Side Story. He also joined a pool of potential finale performers from Stagedoor: More than 400 of them applied for a spot in today's performance.
Those who made the cut come from 22 states and three countries and range in age from 10 to 18. Ian, 14, is the only North Carolina resident in the bunch.
"I think it's a wonderful opportunity," said Janie Nelson, Ian's mother. "The Macy's parade is such a part of our American culture on Thanksgiving Day morning.... I've been watching it since I was a little girl. I'm thrilled."
Ian is making his television debut -- in front of a national audience. So you might think that he would be just a tad anxious. But he seemed calm and collected as the big day in the Big Apple neared.
"I don't really get nervous," he said. "If you put all the work that's necessary into performing great, then it will be great. You want to do it because you've prepared so well for it."
The all-day rehearsals for the finale should boost the confidence of Ian and his fellow cast members. These began shortly after Ian left for New York on Saturday.
And in a sense, Ian has been preparing for the finale for some time, taking dance classes at the Academy of Dance Arts and studying voice with Janine Hawley of Kernersville.
There are also numerous acting classes in Ian's busy schedule. Drew Perrin, a master's student in the directing program at UNC School of the Arts, teaches Ian theater acting.
And he studies television and movie acting with Burgess Jenkins, who started Carolina Actor's Group in 2006 to provide training for actors competing for roles in the many motion pictures, network shows and commercials being made in North Carolina.
"I don't want to say I'm a one-dimensional actor," Ian said. "I want to do everything....
"Every performing opportunity you get makes you better. I want to be the best I can be."
kkeuffel@wsjournal.com
727-7337
The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be broadcast today beginning at 9 a.m. on WXII-TV. The parade's Santa Claus finale, featuring Ian Nelson of Winston-Salem, is scheduled to begin at 11:50 a.m.
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