Best-case scenario? I hope to be working professionally in NYC in five years—I don't know exactly where yet, just as long as it’s in entertainment. Broadway is great, but event work also sparks my interest. At some point down the line, I think I will open my own management business.

EXPERIENCE WANTED

I’ve gotten exactly what I was asking for out of my studies. I’ve made connections, learned exponentially throughout my four years here, and feel now that I can graduate as a successful theatre professional. In Theatre Design/Technology, our teachers are also working professionals, and that has probably been one of the most valuable experiences for me.

Landing a job as Production Assistant for Countdown Entertainment on last year’s New Year’s Eve show in Times Square, for example. I got the chance through Professor Dan Hanessian, the chair of Theatre Design/Technology. His connections helped me be interviewed and hired. I’ve also been engaged in summer stock for two seasons at the Utah Festival Opera, which was my first real outside-of-Purchase gig.

Basically, I assisted in the planning of the New Year’s event itself. It was a lot of answering phones, running errands, and doing paperwork; but I couldn't have asked for a more valuable experience. I learned a lot just about how things worked in New York and the steps needed to make a production like that work.

I’m returning for Times Square 2007, but under a much less demanding contract.

A GREAT CHALLENGE

Still, if I had to pick one experience that has made Purchase College worth it, it would be the challenge of my senior project. I completed my project last semester, which was being the Technical Director for Purchase Repertory Theatre's first musical, James Joyce’s The Dead.

This was my first time as a technical director, and it was in itself a great challenge. I had been a stage manager in the past, but this was something new because it was a new form of management for me. It felt like I was starting from the very beginning and learning all new styles. Even though the experience pushed me to my limits,
it was definitely worth it.

I only wish we had more funding in Theatre Arts and Film to do more of the kinds of things we’re capable of doing.

100% PERFECT FIT

The thing about theatre is your heart has to be in it. You have to really love theatre to go into it because it will challenge you. But if you know it’s what you want, it's perfect. I really believe that if you know what you want to do and accept nothing less, no one can stop you.

Overall, I look at my last four years as a single, complete experience in itself. My professional growth is, I think, the most amazing thing that I have taken from my major. Through that, I have had the opportunities to Intern at two reputable Broadway Production Management Companies, one called Tech Productions; and I am currently interning for Aurora Productions.

So, yes—100% the right choice for me. I don't think there could have been a better fit than Purchase College.