“When I was in college, all the pretty women were in the theatre, so I auditioned for a play.” PlayCollegeTheatrePretty Woman Author:Judd Nelson
“I like to use my hands. When I was in theatre in college, that was one of my biggest notes: 'You use your hands too much.” UseHandsToo MuchCollegeNotesTheatre Author:Susan Sullivan
“My mother was working on her college degree throughout my childhood, and being the youngest in the family, that meant being dragged to a lot of her classes. She majored in playwriting, so I was exposed to theatre from a very young age, and it was just the most magical world to me.” WorldAgeYoungMotherClassChildhoodCollegeDegreesTheatreExposedYoung AgeCollege DegreePlaywriting Author:Valorie Curry
“I did some professional radio acting as a teenager, and I essentially put myself through college with radio acting in Montreal. When I graduated, I got jobs in professional theatres, repertory, and stock theatres in Canada for a couple of years. And then I went to Stratford, Ontario, where I spent three years with a Shakespeare company. We took a classical play from Stratford to New York City, and I got some good notices there and essentially stayed and did live television. And that brings you to the beginning of filming.” YearsPlayJobsThreeActingCitiesCompanyNew YorkTelevisionCollegeCoupleRadioTheatreTeenagerCanadaNew York CityThree YearsMontrealOntarioLive Television Author:William Shatner
“My parents started with very little and were the only ones in their families to graduate from college. As parents, they focused on education, but did not stop at academics - they made sure that we knew music, saw art and theatre and traveled - even though it meant budgeting like crazy.” LittlesArtMadeParentSawsCrazyCollegeFocusedTheatreGraduatesTraveledBudgeting Author:Jennifer Garner
“The acting bug just seemed to stick with me. I loved going to theatre school in college and continued to train in film classes and had been auditioning for T.V. and movie roles since I was in my late teens. My career has been slow and steady, and I kind of like it that way.” WayKindHas BeensSchoolFilmActingClassCareersRolesCollegeLateTrainSticksTheatreSteadyTeensBugsSlow And Steady Author:Laura Mennell
“I used to do puppet theatre and also mime and musical theatre in Florida for competitions and festivals, which was great. I was very much involved in theatre when I was in college.” UsedCollegeInvolvedCompetitionMusicalTheatreFloridaFestivalsPuppetsMimeMusical Theatre Author:Wesley Snipes
“I had an unorthodox high-school experience; I shifted around to different schools. When I got to college and met Larry Sacharow, who ran the theatre department [at Fordham University in NYC], he was the first person to say ‘I believe in you.’ At that point, I just needed someone to say ‘I see you, I get you, let’s go.’ It’s an amazing thing to borrow someone else’s confidence in you; it can change your life.” FirstsBelievePersonsDifferentSchoolI BelieveCollegeNeededMetsHigh SchoolUniversityI Believe InTheatreRanDepartmentBelieve In YouChanging Your LifeAmazing ThingsFirst PersonLarryNycUnorthodoxI Believe In YouNeeded SomeoneSchool Experience Author:Taylor Schilling
“I grew up dancing, and for a while in college, I was a gym rat. I finally realized... I'm going to create a little more balance in my life and make exercise something that I enjoy doing. So I went back to dance when I started doing more musical theatre, and I've just found that it's the best thing that works for my body.” LittlesBodyFoundEnjoyCollegeGrewBalanceExerciseGrew UpDancingMusicalTheatreBest ThingsGymRatsMusical TheatreGym Rats Author:Christine Lakin
“I went to school to play sports, but I got involved in theatre in college kind of by mistake. I ended up taking an acting class almost just to get rid of an arts requirement, but I wound up in this wonderful acting class with this teacher named Alma Becker who really saved my life. I was just kind of this knucklehead kid from DC and I was in and out of trouble all of the time. I took a theatre class and she really discovered something in me and I absolutely fell in love with it.” KindArtPlayKidsSchoolSportsActingMistakeClassTeacherWonderfulTroubleCollegeInvolvedTheatreWoundsSavedRequirementsActing ClassesKnuckleheads Author:Jon Bernthal
“When I began doing theatre in high school I saw that I could get laughs from people but I didn't really connect that to going on and becoming a comedian. I was interested in acting and while I was at Boston College I was part of an improv group, Mother's Fleabag, which had a long history and has been known as one of the best college improvisation groups in the U.S.” PeopleLongHas BeensSchoolMotherActingKnownLaughingSawsGroupsCollegeBecomingHigh SchoolTheatreComedianBostonImprovisationBest College Author:Amy Poehler
“Pretty much at the age of 16, I realized acting wasn't going to be the vocation for me...too political not enough creative control. But I loved the craft and my father wanted me to get a college degree. Seemed natural to study what I loved and Marymount Manhattan has a wonderful theatre program, I highly recommend it! A lot of what I learned there I apply to my comicbook writing and pacing.” WritingEnoughAgeWantedPoliticalFatherNaturalActingCreativeStudyWonderfulCollegeDegreesProgramTheatreI RealizedCraftsVocationManhattanPacingCollege Degree Author:Holly Golightly
“I took part in a theatre festival in Massachusetts two summers after I graduated from college. Then I was in Los Angeles thinking: "I'm going to go to New York." I'd decided that I would not have a chance of a film career, so I was about to make the move. I bought a plane ticket and found a place to live in New York, packed my bags and of course the universe "told me" that I was not meant to go. Suddenly, a week before I was supposed to leave, I had three job offers and one of them was my first movie.” ThinkingFirstsTwoJobsFilmMovingUniverseThreeCoursesFoundChanceCareersWeekNew YorkCollegeOffersSummerDecidedTheatrePlanesBagsLos AngelesTicketsFestivalsPlaces To LiveMassachusetts Author:Chris Pine
“At college, I felt frustrated thinking three years was a long time and I just wanted a job but afterwards I was in employment the whole time. I got into a theatre company and started doing stand-up gigs for cash, so I lived hand-to-mouth, but there was always enough to pay the bills.” ThinkingYearsLongEnoughWholeHandsWantedJobsThreeFeltPayCompanyCollegeLong TimeMouthsBillsTheatreEmploymentThree YearsCashFrustratedGigs Author:Bill Bailey
“I was a football player at college and dislocated my thumb. I was out for a bit and passed the theatre and saw some lovely drama students walking into an audition for 'Much Ado About Nothing' and thought: 'That's what I'll do when I recover.' I joined that production and was hooked.” BitsSawsPlayerStudentsFootballCollegeWalkingDramaProductionsTheatreLovelyAuditionsThumbsHookedFootball Player Author:Clark Gregg
“I had worked in this New York theatre company for my first eight or nine years out of college, acting and directing there, and I'd begun to write a little bit.” WritingYearsFirstsLittlesBitsActingCompanyNew YorkCollegeLittle BitEightTheatreNineNine Years Author:Clark Gregg
“When people ask me if musical theatre should be taught in music colleges, I reply that there is no need. All anyone needs to study is the second act of La Boheme because it is the most tightly constructed piece of musical theatre that there is. It is practically director-proof: you can't stage it badly because it just works too well. If you can write La Boheme, you can write anything. I would also recommend studying Britten's Peter Grimes.” PeopleIfsNeedsShouldWritingWellsAsksStudyPiecesStageTaughtCollegeDirectorsMusicalTheatreProofAsk MePeterMusical TheatreGrime Author:Andrew Lloyd Webber
“When I was a junior in college I moved to New York and went to this performance school the Experimental Theatre Wing. We had singing class and again, some of the other students would cry when I was singing, and I really didn't know why. I started to realize that there was something in the tone of my voice that was evocative for them.” KnowsSchoolVoiceRealizingClassCryNew YorkStudentsCollegeSingingPerformancesMovedWingsTheatreToneJuniors Author:Antony Hegarty
“I was a tomboy growing up and then fell into the world of theatre and musical theatre. A girlfriend introduced me to yoga in college and I was hooked. I didn't really know anything about it except that it was the highlight of my week. I ended up graduating from the University of Virginia and moving to Los Angeles where I could continue acting and do a yoga teacher training. I went from practicing once or twice a week to several hours everyday. I loved it.” KnowsWorldMovingHoursActingGrowing UpTeacherGrowingWeekCollegeTrainingYogaEverydayMusicalUniversityTheatreGirlfriendLos AngelesGraduatesVirginiaHookedHighlightsYoga TeachersMusical TheatreTeacher Training Author:Kathryn Budig
“When I look at what I'm doing today, I see [the] roots in my college life. I was the online editor of my college paper and an active member of the Harvard Computer Society. I abandoned a summer internship at the Washington Post due to injury and instead did theatre. I found my comedic voice through satirical newsletters in college.” LooksTodayFoundVoiceCollegeMembersPaperComputerSummerRootsActiveDuesTheatrePostsInjuryOnlineEditorsAbandonedHarvardComedicSatiricalCollege LifeInternshipsNewsletters Author:Baratunde Thurston