Student Blog: What Inspires You?

Welcome back! This week I wanted to change things up a bit.

While I’m super excited to be sharing my personal experiences with you all, I’ve had the amazing opportunity through my first year of acting training to meet and work with so many amazing people.

Getting to see my classmates work and perform, getting to originate roles they created, reminds me why I love acting and art so much. The collaboration, witnessing others spark their own creativity. Few things inspire me more than seeing people pour themselves into something they’re truly and deeply passionate about. So, I wanted to ask some of my classmates what it is that inspires them. 

Here are their responses.

Holly Sutton

(@hollyasutton on Instagram & TikTok)

“I started acting because my cousin at the time did it and I thought it seemed fun. So my mom enrolled me into classes. Having fallen in love with it when my teacher, Debrah Leopard, switched theater companies, I followed, auditioning for the musical she was directing. Despite me completely freezing mid audition in front of everyone, and crying running out of the theater, she still gave me a chance and that was it. I found what I was meant to do.

The most impactful show I’ve been in was in 9th grade. I was Genie in Disney’s Aladdin jr. and my life was a complete whirlwind. One of the biggest things happening at that time was my grandfather was battling brain cancer, and ended up losing the fight on my opening night. I was told the next day before going into the last day of performances. I remember that despite wanting to do anything but go on stage, I did. And it was the first time I saw my mom smile in quite a long time. That was when I realized that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. To have the ability to help take someone’s mind off something is so powerful to me and it’s how I feel I can make the world a better place. 

I’m a very superstitious person, so I almost always try to do a few things before each show. For any performance, I always try blasting “champagne problems” by Taylor Swift and “stick season” by Noah kahan in my headphones. If I’m able to sing along at the top of my lungs, then I will without a care in the world.

Before a show I also try to tell each cast mate and any crew member I can find to “break a leg.”  I’ve done this since I was in elementary school. If I’m able to I also always get a coffee from somewhere and do a small short and sweet self date. I find these things always put me in a good mood putting me in a positive, fun, happy, and creative mindset.”

Grace Mitscherlich

(@grace.mitscherlich on Instagram & TikTok)

“It really didn’t matter the age, I was always acting or singing or writing/directing anything from a movie with my little sister and neighbors to a one woman play at the park.

As I got older, I dove into musical theater and began doing that pretty full time. By the time I graduated high school, I had done 44 community/professional shows around my hometown. Shoutout to Richmond, VA! 

The logical and only decision that crossed my mind was to get a BFA in musical theater. It was a no brainer. I’m a full time content creator, and a lot of the topics I was filming at the time were film/tv related. After one semester in college, I realized that I had more of an interest in getting a degree related to the film/tv side of things, and switched to the BFA for acting for theater, film, and television major.

I can’t pinpoint what specifically inspires my drive in this field. The answer is constantly changing. This summer, I played Liza in Poster Child here in NYC. It is an original work by Ozzy Dickson. Seeing all of the stages that this project went through really inspired me. 

Right now I’m really interested in creating and producing new works. After shadowing one of the producers in our show, Garrett Bailey, I realized that I would be really good at doing this kind of work too. I love performing but involving myself in other aspects of production has been really inspiring towards what I want to do with my career.”

Michelle Byeon

(@byg_06082 on Instagram)

“What inspires me is watching movies and finding things I like in life that are passing by and watching them. It's just a moment when an actor breaks into my heart, maybe because he's handsome or pretty, but it's just one scene, one fleeting look; that's enough. 

No matter how many of one's actor filmography didn't win awards, no matter how many of his performances turn out so far from his expectations, a moment when you ridiculously fell in love, it's those silly, in-the-moment moments that make me fall in love that inspire me and keep me going. 

They're artists, and artists are beautiful. Whether it's outwardly or inwardly or worldly, it's so beautiful. I can't explain why I love all my favorite inspirations, but they say that you love it when you can't explain something good. It's nice to do what you love.”

Gwyneth Strange

(@gwyn._.is._.strange on Instagram)

“I started acting when I was 6. My mom noticed that I had a love for performing at a young age when I used to put on shows for my family. She signed me up for a theatre camp, and l've been acting ever since. 

I'm not sure exactly what age I was when I decided that acting was more than just a hobby, but soon I realized it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. What I love about acting is that I can set aside my own worries for a moment and step into the shoes of an entirely different person. It helps me see the world and its people in a different light.

Inspiration for acting strikes me in many different ways. One of the most frequent ways is through music. I'll put on my playlist and suddenly hear a song that reminds me of a certain character. After listening more closely to the lyrics or how the beat makes me feel, I find myself discovering new things about my character. Listening to music helps when preparing for an audition, doing character work while rehearsing, and while getting ready for a show.”

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Inspiration can come from anything, anyone, anywhere. And that’s part of what makes the arts such a beautiful thing.

Take care of yourselves,

K

(TikTok: starksnova, Instagram: katiesgleason)