An Unpopular Opinion: It Doesn’t Matter Where You Go To School
I’m always hesitant to write during the month of March. Tensions are high, families are drained and the anxiety surrounding the college audition process is palpable.
You’ve read the articles, I imagine. You probably know that many Tony winners and Broadway stars didn’t go to one of these “top ten” schools that you find upon googling or that many went to a traditional Liberal Arts school to broaden their horizons as a human. Some examples:
Ethan Slater of Spongebob Squarepants fame, went to Vassar College which is a beautiful, traditional liberal arts school that is non-audition.
Michael Cera, who was nominated for a Tony in 2018 and has many hit movies, did not go to college.
Many of the stars of the hit, The Prom, didn’t go to college or went to small liberal arts schools that you probably haven’t heard of.
But I want to make this a bit more tangible and personal. I know I feel removed from celebrities and such, so drawing personal connections is always the most helpful for me when trying to grasp a concept.
Our very own MCA Coach, Erica Spyres, went to Drury University in Missouri. Haven’t seen it on a “top ten” list? Neither have I, but I will tell you I wept when I was sitting in the second row watching Erica make her Broadway debut in Carousel. She went on for Jessie Mueller and stepped into the iconic role of Julie. No one checked her resume to see where she went to school before she launched into one of the most beautiful renditions of “If I Loved You” I’d ever seen in the gorgeous Imperial Theatre.
Another one of our MCA coaches, Nael Nacer, went to Suffolk University, an awesome liberal arts school in the middle of Boston. Nael has won multiple Elliot Norton and Irne Awards and he is one of the most employed actors in Boston and beyond. The first time I saw him perform in Tribes at Speakeasy Stage, I was completely starstruck when I met him after. When I asked Nael to join the coaching team, where he went to college made up zero of my hiring criteria.
Your college does not define you. But you can help define your college. And I think that’s pretty cool. These schools are so proud of their alumni and continue to support them well beyond their college years.
Instead of the classic pro/con ideas that I offer when selecting a program, here are some that may not be as popular. As you embark on this career, I think these should be a big part of the conversation when selecting your new home for 4 years:
You should try to come out of college as an actor as close to debt-free as possible. It’s a vicious cycle of working tirelessly to pay down the loans and then skipping auditions because you are tired. Do your future self a favor.
Go with your gut. Even if you have a choice in front of you that is historically the “best option” because of their prestige, if something feels off or you didn’t connect with the program head, don’t force it. Trusting your intuition as an actor is a skill you’ll need for the rest of your life.
Don’t compare your yes pile, to your no pile. Why continue to worry about a school that said no? Who wants to go to a school that doesn’t feel the same way about you as you do them? Focus on the ones who said yes! They see your star power! They want to help foster your love of the arts and celebrate you! Out of the hundreds (and maybe thousands) of auditions, they want YOU! How amazing is that?
This is your journey. Make the most of your training, make the most of the resources around you and work your tail off. I hope I get to use you as an example one day to highlight a school that isn’t in one of those pesky “top ten” lists.
Go make us proud!
