The world’s a stage for Marshall Lovelady

RIO RANCHO—Last year, Rio Rancho High School thespian Breton Sego won an Enchantment Award from the New Mexico High School Musical Theatre Awards for “Best Actor.”

In May, a Cleveland High School thespian won top honors, this time for “Best Supporting Actor.”

His name is Marshall Lovelady, a senior-to-be at Cleveland High School, and the lone winner among a handful of the city’s high school drama nominees, including Sego.

“If I was gonna be honest, I didn’t think I would win,” Lovelady admitted. “In many instances, I seem to not have the best of luck when it comes to certain things. … I don’t get picked for certain things.

“If I did win, that would be fantastic. If I didn’t win, that would be OK.”

At least one Cleveland High teacher wasn’t surprised.

“Marshall was meant for the stage,” says CHS drama teacher Kir Kipness. “He lights up and has amazing acting instincts as soon as he is in front of an audience. He always fully commits and connects to his characters. He is incredibly dynamic in that he can switch on a dime from a very dramatic moment to a brilliant comedic moment.

“I am so very proud of his Best Supporting Actor win for Benny Southstreet in our musical, ‘Guys and Dolls,’” Kipness added.

Lovelady has been in several CHS productions and is already looking forward not only to the 2025 play, yet to be decided says Kipness, but also a career related to acting, but more likely in animation; he’s adept at coming up with voices of all kinds.

Breton won a trip to New York City last year, but supporting actor honorees don’t get that reward, so Lovelady is hoping to garner a “Best Actor” award next year and head to the Big Apple. Not only has he never been to New York, he’s never flown in an airplane.

His future is also up in the air, but he’s got aspirations and unafraid of challenges: He’s autistic.

“Unfortunately, I was a bit of a problem child,” he said. “I used to be a little bit of a nuisance, but I’ve since chilled out a whole lot since then.”

Raised in Northern Meadows, he started his academic life at nearby Cielo Azul Elementary, continued it at Rio Rancho Middle School and then at Cleveland.

“The first time I got into acting was at Cielo Azul,” he recalled. “I don’t know what the show was, but I remember the plot being about a bunch of candymakers who make piñatas. … That was my first real acting.”

He said his grandmother had taken him at an earlier age to Albuquerque Little Theater, at which youngsters were invited to come up on the stage, and how shy he’d been at the time.

Later, he did a “theaterized” version of “The Grinch,” and he was “The Grunch,” when he was at RRMS. “I do remember I had a lot of fun with it.

“I’ve always been somewhat of an actor,” Lovelady said. “I always loved making up elaborate stories and playing with my friends and going outside and having fun. I’ve always thought of it like essentially more for characters and other things that I make. And I like making something new and totally original.”

“Guys and Dolls” followed his appearances in CHS plays “Beauty and the Beast” and “Clue,” in which he was Col. Mustard.

“I had never seen ‘Guys and Dolls.’ Not many of us in school have,” he said. “Miss K, as we like to call her, doesn’t reveal too many details; she scarcely gives us hints (of the script and plot) until it comes up, so it’s always like a surprise.

“I did watch the movie and it was very interesting for its time (1955); it’s kind of weird and the gags are hit and miss, but overall, it’s got some pretty good songs overall, and some pretty good acting.”

His dream role, he said, would be in the “SpongeBob SquarePants” production as either Patrick or Mr. Krab, “or in ‘Peter Pan,’ and I would be Captain Hook.”

“It’s all about comedy, man,” Lovelady concluded. “It just brings me joy to see my acting and my emotions bring out emotions in other people, you know what I mean? I always love seeing people happy.”

During an interview with the Observer, Lovelady often changed his voice, examples of where his future may lie, “because I can do a number of different voices … serious, some terrifying; I think I can be quite feminine. I would love to be mainly a voice actor.”

Winners of the Best Actor — such as Breton last year — and Best Actress awards are sent to participate in the Jimmy Awards — the National High School Musical Theatre Awards — in New York City. The Jimmy Awards/The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA) program impacts approximately 130,000 students who participate in 51 regional high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of touring Broadway productions throughout the U.S.

A supporting actor doesn’t get that reward, which includes 10 days of a rigorous theatre experience, with coaching sessions, training and rehearsals led by some of Broadway’s most accomplished professionals.

Lovelady is hoping to garner a “Best Actor” Award next year and head to the Big Apple.

For what role? He’ll just have to be patient.

“I have some ideas but have not fully chosen the shows for next year yet,” Kipness said. “I will announce those in the first week."