ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – Four years ago, a foreign exchange student from Paris, France, visited Escanaba. He says the experiences he had during his stay changed the trajectory of his life.
“When I came here, I didn’t really have anything planned for college and a career,” said Paul Bachschmidt, now age 21. “I didn’t really have an idea of what I wanted to do.”
That changed when he arrived in Esanaba, where he stayed with Craig and Patty Woerpel.
“Craig’s sister (Kristine Hovland) asked me if I wanted to help her on the play that she was doing,” Bachschmidt said. “She was doing the lights for Putnam County Spelling Bee, which is a musical. I said yes, and I really enjoyed it.”
He loved working with local theater group Players de Noc at the Bonifas Theater so much that he quickly found other productions to join.
“I was on Sister Act at [Escanaba] High School,” he said. “I was doing the lights, but I also got onstage as the Pope. That was a very fun production. I did Circus Olympus back at the Bonifas. I was doing lights. WCKY was a murder mystery in a radio station. That was the Bark River High School show, but they didn’t have a theater so they came here.”
Thanks to each of those shows, workshops he attended, and the mentorship he received along the way, Bachschmidt discovered a career path that is right for him.
“When I got back in France, I finished high school, and then I went to an art and culture college,” he said. “For the past few years, I’ve been doing a lot of internships, working on productions in some shows, and I’ve been doing public relations in museums and stuff like that. I’ve been going around the culture world, and I’ve been loving it.”
This fall, he is set to start an internship at the National Opera of Paris.
“I’m going to be in charge of the auditions for the orchestra,” Bachschmidt said. “It’s a very big place, so I’m just going to meet a lot of people. It’s going to be a lot of work, but it’s going to be very fun and interesting.”
Bachschmidt credits his time in Escanaba, as well as the people he met during his stay, with guiding him toward a bright future in the arts.
“If I hadn’t come here, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today, so I’m very grateful for that. Just a lot of people that have helped me,” he said. “They’ve just inspired me to be what I am today. I’m very happy about that.”
Along with the Woerpels and Hovland, Bachschmidt’s list of mentors includes Escanaba Mayor Mark Ammel, who worked with him on the set of Sister Act, and Players De Noc Technical Supervisor Jamie Peterson.
