Mikesh, an ensemble member and understudy in the Broadway production of "Stranger Things: The First Shadow," joins President Connie Ledoux Book to share his unexpected path from spring break to the stage and the Elon community that supported his leap.
When President Connie Ledoux Book asked Sean Mikesh ’25 how he landed a role in “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” on Broadway, he described his story as “a bit of a crazy one.” As he tells it in the latest episode of “Elon Beyond the Bricks,” it started during the spring break of his senior year.
While his classmates left campus for places like Cancun and California, Sean had his own plans. “I, on the other hand,” he shared, “went home to get my wisdom teeth removed.”
Two days into his recovery, he received an urgent email from Jim Carnahan Casting, a casting company that he connected with through his Senior Showcase.
In the email, he learned that “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” needed an immediate replacement on Broadway. With a swollen mouth, Sean sent in an audition tape, had an in-person callback in New York City a few days later and received a phone call following his callback.
As Sean vividly remembers being told on the phone, “We are so sorry to tell you that you cannot go home because we need you in rehearsal tomorrow.”
Since that moment in late March, Mikesh has performed nightly as an ensemble member and understudy for the Charles Sinclair character. The roles have challenged him in ways both technical and transformative, shifting between nuanced character work, mastering tight backstage choreography and even stepping into the production’s iconic Demogorgon suit.
Not even a year out from graduation, Mikesh described to Book how surreal the transition has been relocating to New York City, negotiating contracts and performing on Broadway. Through it all, he emphasized the community that has anchored him. He credited Associate Professor of Performing Arts Kim Shively at Elon for helping him step confidently into the professional industry, and his fellow Elon alumni and students in New York, like Erik Houck ’25 and Campy Rodriguez ’26, who is currently in “Aladdin” on Broadway.
“It’s been such a beacon of support,” he said. “It’s like a hug, the way Elon felt when I first visited the campus… And when you come out to New York, we’re in a new space, beautiful in a different way, but the people are still there and that hug is still there.”
Towards the end of Sean’s conversation with President Book, which ranged from the surprise commencement ceremony she held for Sean last May in New York City to the importance of staying present, Sean offered advice for Elon students whose dream it is to perform on a Broadway stage.
It was a quote he returned to throughout his audition process that framed his experience: “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.”
Preparation, for him, came through years of Meisner, Stanislavski, and Chekhov-based training under Professors Kevin Otos and Kim Shively; roles in on-campus productions of “Paradise Lost” and “The Antipodes;” and the lessons he absorbed across classrooms and disciplines on campus.
For someone whose story to Broadway began with wisdom teeth surgery, an unexpected email and a callback in New York City, Mikesh’s journey makes one thing clear: when opportunity arrived, he was prepared.
Learn more about the podcast and listen to the episode online.