When Dan Bittner was in middle school, he decided to try out for the school play. He didn’t know that when he stepped onto stage, it would set the stage for his career. He recalls, “I became interested in Musical Theater after doing Annie at Shaler Area Middle School. I played the ever so important role of ‘Dog Catcher’ and caught the bug. When I realized how wonderful the people were and how fun the experience was, I thought I’d want to do it for the rest of my life. What I love most about what I am blessed to be able to do everyday is storytelling. And honestly, if I told myself as a child I’d be touring the country and getting paid to sing and play soldier, I’d probably pass out.”
After graduating Shaler Area High School in 2017, Bittner earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater from Carnegie Mellon. He now works as an actor with the national tour of Les Miserables, where he plays one of the students, Feuilly, and covers Enjolras, Bamatabois and Grantaire.
His roots in our community continue to shape Bittner. He shares, “I dedicate all I do to my hometown of Shaler Area. The community there is why I’m where I am today. From the support of my teachers and peers as well as the community itself I always felt like I had something to work for that inspired me. It was the way I was expected to conduct myself based off of the standard set by my teachers and mentors in the music and theater arts at Shaler. They never gave up on me and pushed me to be the best version of myself I could be. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Bittner encourages students to bring focus and perseverance to all they do. “My advice to the current students is to show up and go for it. If you want something in life and have the opportunity to pursue it, go for it. If you feel like you can’t do something, find out how you can and go for it. Don’t make excuses, find out how you can work towards your goal everyday and show up. If you’re tired, show up. If you’re sad, show up. Even if you’re having the best day you’ve ever had, just show up for yourself in any way you can. Also don’t be afraid to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. And lastly, don’t be a jerk,” he says. “The biggest lesson I learned was to not be a jerk. Leading with kindness is not always easy but will get you very far. I’m incredibly grateful for how deeply that was instilled in me.”
