Hannah Barudin: I grew up in New Jersey pursuing dual passions for theater and technology. After balancing both interests through high school and college (computer science major, theater minor), I faced a career decision: while my classmates headed to tech jobs in the Bay Area, I chose to follow my performing dreams to NYC. I’m a short person (5’ 0”), so I thought to myself, “Well, if I’m going to pursue performing at all, I’m probably going to play kids and teenagers, so I should probably do that while I’m younger!” I booked my first MCT contract in 2011, came back in 2013 for a summer, and returned in 2014 for a Fly Tour to Japan and Singapore. I was even lucky enough to work with the China National Theatre for Children in 2015, which was one of the first times children performed on their main stage! (It also provided me with the best “fun fact” ever: I appeared on Chinese national television – as a leprechaun!
Kaeli Heffner: I was raised in beautiful Saratoga County, NY, and I went to NYU to study musical theater. I graduated right into the pandemic, and, like most people, my life turned upside down! I first learned about MCT through an audition conference, and I had NO idea what a “Missoula” even was! I jumped at the opportunity to work with kids and travel. MCT changed my life. It took me around the country and the world, gave me my best friend, and even gave me a fiancé! Currently, we live in NY, and I’m performing and working with kids as much as possible while getting my master’s degree in Elementary Education.
I have a gazillion stories! We did Peter and Wendy in Portugal with none of the set pieces we needed and 7 kids. When I was touring The Little Mermaid, I went onstage as the Starfish in a children’s costume (ouch) multiple times. I’ve done multiple weeks in the Pacific Northwest more than once and worked with children I adored two years in a row. One of my favorite stories comes from Rota, Spain. One of our tiny Clouds could not bring herself to go to the bathroom even though she REALLY had to go. When we asked her what was happening, she said she had seen a video of snakes coming out of a toilet. She was terrified! A little funny, a little sad, and a bit nightmare-inducing!
Hannah: I took a (slight) change of direction in the search for more stability than full-time theater usually affords and started working as a software engineer in 2014. For the past 5 years, I’ve been an engineer at Gusto, where I write software to help small companies provide employee benefits. I got married in 2018 and had our first kid (Simon) in July 2020. Peak pandemic time in NYC was a very… interesting time to become a parent, to say the least. We moved out of the city in 2021 and had our second kiddo (Noah) in September 2024. Adjusting from 1 to 2 kids was hard. Cue trumpets: Enter Kaeli!
My mom introduced us when she found Kaeli in a local Facebook group. I honestly had reservations and a weird amount of guilt around having someone help us out with our newborn (we both had parental leave, after all!), but when my mom told me that the person she’d found was a former TAD, I honestly had a near-immediate sense of relief. Kaeli has become essential to our family, helping me to get much-needed rest in the early days, and now helping me to manage the chaos of our family now that I’m back at work. Beyond that, though, she’s helping me foster a love of the arts in my own kids: Simon’s first full-length live musical was seeing Kaeli in a local production of Shrek, which he loved! We love, love, love Kaeli and hope to keep her as part of our family in some form or fashion for a long, long time.
Kaeli: As if they could get rid of me! I’m so lucky to work with the best families. Simon and I are thick as thieves, and being with Noah since he was a month old has bonded us hardcore. My favorite part of MCT was getting to bond with local families, and my work as a nanny is absolutely an extension of that. It gives me flexibility (and extra emotional support!) I need to continue to work and study as an artist and teacher. Best “job” ever!