'It took me like, 10 years from graduating to starting to make a living doing it myself, solo, without assisting or anything. So yeah, just stick out if you can and just keep trying and don't be told that you can't do it, just persevere.'

I had always enjoyed writing. I have written countless miniature stories and plays since I was nine years old. Naturally, when I got to college, I had figured maybe writing was something I wanted to do, but I decided against it. I am lucky enough that my theatre had the opportunity for students to write and direct their own one-act play. After acting in this show my freshman year, I knew I wanted to write one for my sophomore year. So, I got to work and took a screenwriting class in the spring of my freshman year to help me. With the assistance of my teacher, I was pushed into actually submitting my script to be put on stage, and I was fortunate enough to be picked.

One of their most popular packages is the Agency Jump-starter Program, which includes 3 two-week intensives with agents, and closes with a private industry night via Zoom. On industry night, each actor goes into a private breakout room and performs one-on-one with each agent and receives feedback. As of now, Acting & Voice Studios works with over 150 agents, casting directors, and managers; including agents from Gersh, Paradigm, A3 and Verve.

As the story usually goes, a young person is bit by the “acting bug” and knows immediately what they want to do for their career. For Yue, not so much. His life was an acting drought until he turned 26.

According to a recent announcement from the Broadway League, all audiences, performers, crew members, and theatre staff must be vaccinated and audiences must wear masks. This does not bother me at all since I recognize the benefits of keeping everyone healthy and safe in exchange for incredible theatre.

In the absence of live theatre during quarantine, I turned to the next best thing -- theatre made for T.V. I love this show because even while I was sitting at home during the pandemic, the realistic sets of Times Square and the Broadway Theatres brought me comfort and excitement. It was a way for me to feel connected to Broadway again. So… why didn’t they make a season three? 

'You shouldn’t feel the need to sacrifice your mental health for others. I think that sometimes, like Biles, we feel like by being a part of a show, we have the weight of the world on our shoulders. We don’t want to let anyone down by protecting ourselves.'

Summer Stock auditions are a total numbers game and I implore you to cast a wide net, but make sure you're really targeting Venues that are most likely to hire you, Venues that are looking for performers with your skillsets and strengths--you want to set yourself up to receive as many callbacks as possible. Because more callbacks means a higher callback rate and a higher callback rate leads to a higher likelihood of booking work next summer!

I Didn't Plan It, but What I Was Born To Do is Run and Tell That A Musical is one of My Favorite Things!

If I had just allowed the time to let my piece grow without rushing myself to make something, this process would have gone a lot smoother. If you’re creating something, it doesn’t always come to you right away but that doesn’t mean it won’t come to you

I don't believe in anticipating the possible impending downfall of my career and everything I've worked for. I feel when you prepare a plan B, you've already accepted the failure of plan A. Anything is possible until it isn't, so don't sell yourself short. I've been through a few 'plans' or ideas of what is next in my career so to speak, but not until the previous plan is completely written off as a no go. I'm not going to think up and move on to the next plan until the first plan has completely run its course. So don't ask me what plan B is when I haven't even started plan A.

If you're a history buff, you might have noticed something in a movie, TV show or stage production that wasn't quite right. Turns out, it's possible there's an easy explanation. We're tasked with maintaining the historical integrity of the production, but the storytelling is always our first duty. If you are like me or my friends, you always notice these things, and hopefully now you might be a little more willing to let it slide next time you might see something imperfect in a TV show or movie.

1 in 4 Americans has a disability. It's high time for the media to step up and deliver on empty words with meaningful follow-through: Hire disabled people. Let THEM share their authentic stories. LISTEN to them when they say what you're doing is wrong, and change your ways. People fear what they don't understand. Educate them with proper representation in media and watch the world bloom in living color. When you let the colors in and change the narrative in media, everything begins to change, and the world is better for it. Without diversity, there is no art. Can you paint with no color?

Our student bloggers write about how they're coping with the current global health crisis, give insight on their school's performing arts programs, share their opinions on the latest theater news, and so much more. The importance of mental health at college and in the theater, a letter to NYC, the case for marching band, and more-- read the latest from our college student bloggers!

My vision became spotty and fuzzy. My hearing was starting to fade. I pushed through for another minute, but I knew I was going down. I managed to walk out of class and got to a bench in the lobby before the woman at the front desk ran over to me to see what was wrong. I was conscious for most of the interaction. She said I was out for about ten seconds and she caught me before I even had the chance to fall.

Can you tell I'm a bit of a Hamlet fangirl? I hope I was able to help you find some newfound love of Shakespeare through this article. Shakespeare's plays aren't just brilliant, but his sonnets are as well. They're absolutely beautiful and I recommend reading some of those as well.

In analyzing this trend from my perspective, in order to properly cast my Inside Out characters I decided the remake about my emotions would have to be a musical. As others have been picking movie actors, I decided to pick two Broadway actors to portray each of my emotions as if I were cast as Riley in this Inside Out Musical.

Alongside all the other strange experiences of the last year and a half, repeatedly coming home to a Seattle without live theatre was one of the strangest. But as we see a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, especially in the heavily vaccinated Seattle community, in-person theatre has slowly begun to make its return, and experiencing it in a variety of capacities has been a highlight of my visit home.

I always loved writing so when I researched and looked into schools that had good writing programs. In the end, I went with Eugene Lang at The New School in New York City. The thing is that I never lost my love for theatre, but I just couldn't see myself spending all of my time, energy, and money doing it. I was scared that something that brought me so much joy and comfort would become something that I would begin to hate.

Some musicals sometimes have both high and low stakes. Maybe their world is in peril, but the most important thing is something that the hero might be going through. This equilibrium allows us to explore a world where the characters are out of their comfort zone which leads them to a change. That is a great way to combine an unrealistic environment with relatable traits or personalities.

Many people seem to be under the impression that, because Broadway is still mostly closed, all live entertainment in NYC is closed. However, that is not true, and something historic is happening in order to let people know! Performing Now NYC is a TKTS style ticket booth where people can buy day-of tickets to several live performances in NYC!

There are so many irreplaceable things to be done during the warmer months that can't be missed. Whether you're walking the High Line, visiting Little Island, getting a view of the city from one of the many observation decks or exploring independently and locally owned stores, life in New York during the summer is something that everyone needs to experience. There is something for everyone to enjoy and creating memories is exceptionally easy on the days spent in the Big Apple.

In this profession, we normally think of vocal care and rest as the number one priority. While it is high up on the list so is taking care of our brain and mental state. This is a tough business with many rejections and heartbreaks. I'm sure most of the advice you've heard is 'suck it up and build up thick skin'. This is true to an extent.

To live in a place where defunding has already happened—to not have a marching band to turn to when you can’t imagine yourself possibly going to one more soccer practice—is not only a less beautiful position, it’s a dangerous one. Defunding the arts is not merely a matter of crushing dreams, it’s a matter of destroying lives.

A few months ago, my mom and I decided that we were going to fly out to Las Vegas, Nevada and then drive to Cedar City, Utah where my older sister is currently living while she is employed and the Utah Shakespeare Festival this summer stitching costumes and assisting wardrobe.