My name is Olivia Ruhnke and I am a rising junior at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama where I am training to receive my BFA in Acting. I hope I can offer some unofficial yet helpful advice to those looking to begin their college drama school journey and to those (like myself) who are just trying to make it through in one piece...

Hey aspiring actors! Ready to take your acting to the next level? Here are my top 10 tips to help you succeed. From honing your skills and mastering self-taping, to networking and finding flexible jobs, these tips will guide you on your journey. Let's get started!

The search for employment.  Universally hated, universally experienced.  Searching for jobs can be a very draining and exhausting process, especially when it stretches over a long period of time.  After a semester working on three very time-consuming productions, the prospect of a summer job got pushed to the back burner, something that “I would figure out later.”  

I have never done remote work before, and have never had the opportunity to work from home, so these past two weeks have been a learning experience for me. 

As I write this, I’m currently home sick in bed. However! I took the opportunity of time to post a Q&A on my Instagram asking for questions about my journey and careers in the arts! Here I’ll answer some of the questions I was sent

I have a lot of emotional ties to the musical “Merrily we Roll Along,” and I think I realized that as I was watching it, in real time. Which made it all the more surreal and otherworldly. It was an experience that quickly became reflective. 

Sometimes though in the summer, especially when I’m not doing any shows or anything like that, I can fall into a bit of a creative rut. So, I wanted to hop on here and talk about a few things I do throughout the summer to stay active in the arts.

I always leave feeling so inspired and creatively charged. It is truly a huge blessing and I am so lucky to go to a school where we are encouraged to take part in new work and we are given the opportunities to learn about many different aspects of our industry, and the Lanford Wilson Festival helps us do just that.

While this is probably common knowledge among actors, I quickly learned that little to no background research prior to auditioning put me at a disadvantage. Early on, if I was auditioning for a show that I didn’t know much about, I would go into it pretty much blind and hope for the best. I did not realize how much this affected me.

I am ready to step away from the strenuous academic and social life on campus. This summer, I have the opportunity to travel and try new things! I am looking forward to what I learn. I'm also excited to jump into planning for a potential play that I am assistant directing when I return to campus!

At International Thespian Festival, which I attended this past week, I had the opportunity to participate in a young playwrights professional development intensive hosted by the Dramatists Guild. This experience not only expanded my understanding of the business side of playwriting but also inspired me creatively in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

Hi there! Let me introduce myself! My name is Cat Boynton and I'm a Senior at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts studying Drama in the New Studio on Broadway (NSB). I also double-major in Journalism and double-minor in Producing and the Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology. When I'm not doing theatre, you'll often find me songwriting, running along the Hudson, hanging out with my cows in South Florida, or eating some pasta! :) Let's be friends! @catboynton

★⋆.˚⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆The power of written manifestation... please let at least one of these roles happen for me.... ty!!!★⋆.˚⋆⭒˚.⋆⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

My hope is that I can use these blogs to connect with students like myself surrounding the highs and lows of getting an education or being involved in theater. Even though I definitely won’t have the answer for everything, it has always helped me to know that there are other people having the same experiences as me, especially in a community like show business that can sometimes be difficult to navigate. That being said, I hope I can be that person for you and that you enjoy these blogs!

Today I'm covering clubs at UMich! Joining clubs can feel intimidating, but it doesn't have to be!

Here we go, my very first blog post with BroadwayWorld! I am SO excited to be joining this wonderful, theater-loving community, and I can’t wait to share more about my life as a college student and theater intern with you this summer!

Shows are a wonderful form of entertainment. The bright lights, the catchy songs, and the spectacular dancing is a sight to behold. Whether it’s a local production, national tour, or a Broadway spectacle, it’s an experience everyone should have at least once in life. However, there are some things first-time theatergoers should be aware of in order to optimize their experience. Therefore, I have created a comprehensive guide to navigating your first show.

Ariana Glaser, rising freshman at the Frost School of Music, details her summer plans, including her first lead in a MainStage production, a journalism program in Ohio, and soaking up her last moments at home.

Here are some things I do and keep in mind when getting either rejected or not getting a part you wanted in a musical or play you audition ton for. 

I decided that for this post I would make and share some looks that reimagine famous Broadway characters. Each of these looks is based on the OBC costuming and casting for that particular character. Disclaimer: I DON'T HAVE VIP so don't come for me :p and I made each of these looks within the 5-6 minute timeframe. Photo/game credits go to Dress to Impress on Roblox. <3

Summer stock offers a great opportunity to try new locations, theatres, and shows! I have had the opportunity to perform in Oklahoma! in North Dakota with Frost Fire Theatre. Currently, we are wrapping up tech week.  The whole process has taught me about balance and the value of soaking up as much knowledge from others as much as possible.

I’m so excited to share another DITL! This time, it’s the tech week version! Since this was the first tech of the summer, it's not quite as hectic as changeover (72 hours to go from one show to the next) will be, but it's a great intro to how professional tech functions! Here is what the Tuesday before we opened on Wednesday consisted of for me:

After a lifetime of performing onstage in dance recitals and school musicals, I have always wondered how the experience would be if I worked behind the scenes. Recently, I had the opportunity to do so at the dance recital of my former studio. I worked to ensure the show went on smoothly, and it was a very different experience than usual. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my experience backstage and how it compared to being onstage. 

Hello Readers! My name is Veronica Flynn and In this blog we will go over an introduction, busy summer schedules, stage managing Heathers: The Musical!, preparing for another play, and trying to navigate the TV and film industry. So lets get onto it!

To know and understand what an intent is and where it came from in terms of the work we surround ourselves with, makes the piece truly come alive and allows us to tell dynamic and compelling stories.