UC San Diego

I came into this program wanting to become the most employable actor possible. Two years working as an actor in New York made me bitter and I was hoping grad school would give me the skills to land every role I auditioned for. Three years in La Jolla later, I have skills too wonderful to have even been imagined or wished for when I started.

It turns out I'm funny! Starting this program, I would have never thought to set a goal of perfecting my comedic skills. I didn't think I had them. But the more I worked, the more the humor unintentionally tumbled from my mouth. Even in material that wasn't outright comedy. I almost couldn't stop it.

It turns out I am a good producer. Coming in, I thought, frankly, that my education would be perfect and outside projects couldn't teach me more. But in my spare time here, I produced three short films. Seeing my peers' unfinished projects reminds me how large and perhaps rare a skill this is. I never knew I had it in me.

But most importantly, it turns out that my joy in the process of preparing a role is far larger than the joy in simply landing a role. I do not need to land every role I audition for as I'd earlier hoped. I have rediscovered the joy of the craft. And that will be my greatest weapon against bitterness as I re-enter the professional world.