Personal Narrative: My Pursuit Of Acting

I am the science kid turned actor. If you asked anyone who knew me growing up, actor would not be on the list of possible career paths. Like many teenage boys, it was a crush that brought me into the rehearsal and I never left. Being born into poverty and not really seeing myself represented in the acting world as a man of color, I pursued reputable physics programs. As acceptance letters came in I realized that giving up on the dream of being an actor would leave part of me empty and unfulfilled. This led me to pursue acting in undergrad. There is this pivotal moment during my first professional show as an Acting Apprentice with Florida Studio Theatre that solidified my pursuit of acting. At the end of my first show, a young Latino boy came up to me and said “I’ve never seen someone who looks like me doing what you.” In that moment, I realized that me pursuing an acting career was not just about the passion and the completeness it brings me but also opening up another world

Having been raised in a family below the poverty line in New York City, there are habits that I must actively fight against that are a part of my upbringing. My undergrad was wonderful for giving me the foundation to start working against these habits. While my voice and speech work has improved through undergrad training and working professionally over the past year and a half, I know I need to learn more. My undergrad voice and speech training was based in Linklater and Skinner. As I look at your program I see Skinner is part of your Voice and Speech training. Building upon the foundation I already have would be tremendously helpful. Having already worked on some of her basic concepts of Movement and Voice and Speech I believe this program will fit into the trajectory of my training I also know that I am blind to some of my weaknesses and that it will take a skilled and trust-worthy faculty to help me see them and