Going into art school is about as terrifying as any other major, however there is one big stereotype of art students living La Vie Boheme both during and after. With VCUArts being the No. 1 Public Art School in the country, it comes with high expectations for its current students, faculty, and alumni. Theatre VCU provides their students with many opportunities in the professional world such as participating annually in the Southeastern Theatre Conference, a multitude of theatres around the Richmond area, and as the senior performance majors come closer to graduation- ActorsWork.
ActorsWork is a diverse consortium of performing artists emerging from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Acting program. The senior performance majors partake in ActorsWork as a way to make connections in the acting industry post-graduation. Before VCU’s spring break, they held a Gala at the VCUArts Depot in an effort to show people their talents and what ActorsWork is really about. The group consists of 12 undergraduate students; Miranda Tower, Sean Pugerude, Drew Colletti, Jenna Kraynak, Riley MacIssac, Vincent Ramirez, Shelby Marie Smith, Molly Kaufman, Emma Humpton, Kaelie Ukrop, Katie Stoddard and Jay Banks.
Presentation boards of the senior performance majors
Now what exactly is ActorsWork and how does it… work?
“It’s an audition class that you’re getting and it consists of planning, meetings and workshops with professionals in L.A. and New York. A lot of it is finding out who we want to work with, and how we can meet with them within that week or so and making sure that it happens collectively as a group. It can be very daunting meeting people in this industry mano-a-mano, so coming at it from a group angle has been great [with] having each other’s support and bouncing ideas off of one another, and we have so much in common because we’ve been together for four years and so it’s actually not that hard.” said Kraynak.
“New York is our first stop coming up at the end of March, and we’re meeting with casting directors and agents and managers which are working in the New York industry which is really cool, I got really excited. I saw people in our updated itinerary like Playwrights Horizon and it’s really unique to get to work with them on a one-on-one basis and really get that individual feedback instead of going into a big *cattle call and having no idea how you did,” said Smith.
“We’re kind of charging in as individuals and selling our brand of artist. We all individually have our own brand which is nice and needed to put forth a lot of artwork that has a message like body positivity, female strength and empowerment while some of us are going after recognition of mental illness like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and people are kind of just going to pursue a dream that gives us fuel.” said Stoddard.
How much does it take to provide funds for this fuel, and how are they going to get to their destinations?
“Our goal is as much as we can get! It would be so wonderful to get there without breaking the bank. Everything and anything from everybody helps,” exclaimed Tower.
“Some people are going to be staying with friends of ours that are in New York. Some other seniors from previous years have also done this trip and they’ve made the move to New York. Otherwise we’re doing Airbnb or we have family up in New York. Getting there it will be either train or the midnight bus, you know the number one bus tour in Chinatown! It’s not too glamorous but it gets the job done,” said Pugerude.
As the night went on several underclassmen also came to support their senior peers. Erlene Pearl, avid supporter of VCU Theatre, responded with, “Scared? Excited? Fearful? It’s a mix of things because it’s a very cool thing that I know most schools don’t do, and it’s a way to start putting yourself out there and helping you go ‘okay this is something I’m really good at, this is something maybe I should work on because this person is so good at it,'” when asked how she felt knowing this will be available to her in the future.
Another underclassman, Marcelo Guzman said, “I think it’s amazing, I think it’s one of the best aspects of VCU because showcase is so important because you can have people come to us, or we go to them in L.A., New York, or Chicago, wherever we want to go, and it’s a very good experience because we get connections. We have professors and faculty members who are very much in the business so they know people and they talk to people, and I think [showcase] is an amazing opportunity that VCU gives us.”
Both underclassmen were supportive of their classmates’ efforts to raise funds. “As someone involved in theatre I think it’s important to go and support them. Even if I wasn’t as close to them the way that I am, I would definitely come see them.” said Pearl.
“They had a bake sale two weeks ago. They have a bake sale like every week and I just swipe my card! Ten dollars for you, ten dollars for you. I think we’re all a family here so it’s great to support each other.” added Guzman.
“It’s really been incredible how generous everybody’s been specially the underclassmen in the department have been so kind in helping us out.” said Tower.
A few of the many that came to support the ActorsWork group
How has Theatre VCU prepared them for life after graduation in the acting field?
“You come in to VCU as a theatre major and you come in as one type of actor or type of person and through every show that you do you find out something more about what it is that you do and what it is that you actually like to do. I think the most valuable thing is finding out what your brand is and I think that knowledge has been strengthened with each of us.” said Pugerude.
Others feel like VCU’s location also helps.
“One of the best things about VCU Theatre is that it’s in the heart of Richmond and that they allow us to audition outside of our department. A lot of colleges only have their college mainstage and if you don’t get cast in that then you’re only working in class. We have the option to go outside to all of these paid theatres and we could possibly work with them and audition with them, and that’s not something that everybody gets at a college campus. We’re really lucky that they let us and encourage us to do that,” said Kraynak
“A lot of our classes require different monologues, and songs, and our musical theatre class literally has a section where it’s just auditioning and you get to build the songs that you would use in your real life career. I still use songs from musical theatre class to this day in auditions, and that class has been indispensable in the knowledge I have learned about auditioning and how to represent yourself well,” added MacIssac
Colletti also added, “We also took a business of theatre class, which I know most schools don’t necessarily offer, which is essentially the financial part of being an actor outside of college.”
While many want to act on stage, others have different interests.
“We don’t all want to be on Broadway, we all have our different agendas. For example what I want to do is move to Chicago and make my own art with a group of artists. I want to make my first movie, kind of what Steven Spielberg did with Jaws where he made his first movie and he showed the world what he can do, so I want to do that.” explained Kaufman. Ramirez, who was right next to her also has different plans than Broadway. “I’m moving to L.A. so getting involved in any kind of film areas that I can. I’m also trying to experience the business side of it because it’s not only about the talent but also who you know.”
Looks like these performance majors are nonstop! To donate to ActorsWork please click here!
ActorsWork left to right top: Jay Banks, Vincent Ramirez
Middle: Kaelie Ukrop, Sean Pugerude, Riley MacIsaac,Molly Kaufman, Shelby Marie Smith, Miranda Tower Jenna Kraynak, Katie Stoddard Bottom: Drew Colletti, Emma Humpton
*Cattle Call is a slang term that refers to an audition open to everyone