Carnegie Mellon Today: Larry Powell steps on stage of the Mark Taper Forum in downtown Los Angeles. The 700-seat theater, 3,000 miles from Broadway, has for decades hosted Hollywood stars hungry for West Coast stage time. The actor—who received his professional training in Carnegie Mellon University’s rigorous theater conservatory program—has already established a respectable career through starring roles in regional theaters across the country. He doesn’t have an Oscar or an Emmy yet, but at 29—and with stellar reviews in The New York Times for two Off-Broadway plays already under his belt, he might be on his way to one.
2 comments:
I think this article finds a good balance between highlighting the success of many alumni but also “keeping it real” when it comes to the very competitive theatre industry. It is sometimes de-motivating to think about how competitive the industry is and how few people “make it big” (or “make it” at all). Even as a designer who has better prospects than a performer, this pressure and fear is definitely still present. I think what the article discusses, specifically the points made by Don Wadsworth apply not only to performers but to designers, managers, etc. It’s more than a matter of keeping your eye on the prize—it’s staying true to yourself and your goals. The path to success will take many turns and it is those who keep in mind why they are traveling that path who avoid taking a wrong turn. Sometimes changing the destination is OK: goals change with time, but what matters is pursuing what you want to and finding a way to work towards your goals.
It is nice to read these kinds of articles. Hearing about CMU success stories always puts a smile on my face. I have only been at this school for two semesters and I am already using the successful alumni network to get an internship over the summer and start a network for myself that I can use in the future and hopefully continue to expand throughout my four years here. It is hard not to think about how much money students spend to go to school here but it doesn’t take long to realize that you are doing it for the connections as well as the education. It is hard for me to speak about the acting program here but what Peter and Wadsworth say in this article is very believable. Although we teach a lot of traditional theatre techniques, the professors know that there is a lot of the money is in TV and film making those skills just as valuable. This is something that can be seen in the design concentrations as well.
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