“I like being someone else,” Hersh said. “Really thinking like a different person.”

Freshman Shay Ellis, Hersh’s younger sister has always supported Hersh and his love of acting and directing. She said she has been in few plays with him and its been fun every time.

“Hersh is great to work with,” Shay said. “But sometimes he can take things overboard and get a little crazy, especially on me.”

Junior and close friend of Hersh, Bridget Woulfe, gave insight on the young actor/director and his love for what he does. Woulfe said Hersh really enjoys what he does and is good at it too. She also said working with Hersh is quite fun.

“Hersh is one of the best actors I know,”  Woulfe said. “He can be the smallest part or the largest role and completely steal the show.”

Acting director, Dan Schmidt, said Hersh is a junior actor with a passion for acting. Schmidt said Hersh is a talented actor with a gift for trusting his instincts. He also said as the great actor he already is, he expects much more leadership and preparedness from Hersh as a role model for other actors.

“Hersh is a junior actor who has a myriad of interests in the theatre department,” Schmidt said. “He wants to direct and act and help out as much as he can.”

Hersh knows how the acting business works and is always prepared for the worst. He said he has lost roles for being too tall, for looking like a sibling of a love interest, and for having the wrong hair color.

“It’s a tough business,” Hersh said. “And there’s just a ton of work.”

But in the end, Hersh said working hard and really analyzing what a character is doing will get an actor through it all. Currently Hersh is directing for City Theater Independence for their original, Playwrights Festival. He is also directing, “Rent.” This summer Hersh is looking forward to going to  Schmidt’s, “Romeo and Juliet,” acting classes because next year the school will be doing, “Romeo and Juliet,” as one of the first plays.