"What has your time at CMU meant to you?"

Reflecting on this question has brought me not just peace but also a deep sense of gratitude. 

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Although CMU has given me many things- confidence, structure during covid, a beautiful community- what I believe will most deeply affect my career are the movement practices I have been exposed to through my training. I have discovered that the combination of Suzuki and Viewpoints helps me interact with acting as a spiritual and meditative practice that not only sharpens my own craft, but is deeply useful for devising work with an ensemble. When I first arrived at CMU the word “craft” was thrown around a lot. It made me anxious because it sounded unattainable. I had no idea how much my perspective could change, I didn’t understand that, over the next four years, my understanding of acting was going to transform completely right under my nose. 

I am proud to be one of those people with really overbearing ADHD. As a kid my attention was like a cat- as soon as someone tried to direct it somewhere it would slink away, but left to its own devices it was sharp and direct. I tried countless vocations: gymnastics, martial arts, painting, swimming, piano- the list goes on. My parents, both artists, were very encouraging at first but became weary as, over and over, they paid for a month of classes that I would only take one of before I lost interest. When I wanted to audition for a community theater production of Annie in fourth grade they were very apprehensive. “A play is not something you can start and then stop,” my Mum said to me in the car on the way to the first rehearsal. This activity however was different from the others. Instead of counting the minutes till my parents would come to pick me up, I would wish rehearsal was longer. I memorized my lines early and enthusiastically. All the energy and focus that had been desperately searching for a place to go had finally found a home. 

As I grew older my initial enthusiasm for acting didn’t so much lessen as become dull. I took for granted my talent and was at a loss for how to work at something that was supposed to be naturalistic and free. CMU really changed that. My education exposed me to a plethora of many techniques.  Slowly, I began to know what worked for me and what didn’t. By the end of sophomore year I knew I was a physical actor, and once we started to study Suzuki in junior year, I knew there was something there I needed to pursue. That brought me to study with the SITI company the following summer. During the three week intensive, I saw for the first time what my future as a professional theater and film maker could look like. The marriage of Suzuki and Viewpoints is a deeply effective and ambitious tool for devising work. Not only do they open the mind, they encourage teamwork and creativity while channeling a group's focus to one objective. 

This past semester Catherine Moore reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in subbing for her first year movement classes a couple times while she was on the audition tour. I lept at the opportunity, curious whether I could handle leading a viewpoints session alone, and whether I could use it to create work. I feel immensely privileged that I was able to work with the class of 2026 for even a short period of time. They are a genius group with a very inspiring and unapologetic fearlessness. I left each class floating. It worked. They worked and found things and inspired me. I left with ideas, not just for new projects but for how to lead the next session. It was an incredible opportunity because it allowed me to experiment with leadership while still in the mindset of a student. I believe this brought me closer to the experience of a director than a teacher. I now know I could do the same work anywhere as long as the group of actors is open to working outside of the box. 

Autonomy is incredibly valuable in this industry. The scarcity mindset is dangerous and prevalent. These last four years at CMU have led me away from that feeling and towards a reimagining of what is possible for me as an actor. I can see a future where I am part of a company that produces its own work, because my training showed me there are ways to create my own freedom, they just require practice. I cannot thank CMU enough for allowing me to find my own power.