Alumni of the School of Music and Theatre are looking for big breaks in the Big Apple
Alumni of the School of Music and Theatre are looking for big breaks in the Big AppleLiving in New York City is merely a dream for most. For a handful of Marshall University theatre graduates, however, not only is that dream a reality, they are each finding success in their own ways.
“So many of our students are out there working in this business,” said Jack Cirillo, program director for Marshall University Theatre. “They’re doing plays, movies and television. It won’t be long before we’re hearing ‘Marshall University’ at the Tony Awards, Academy Awards or Grammy Awards. I really believe that.”
For some, it’s acting. For others, it’s production. But no matter which path they’ve taken, these alumni owe much of their success to the School of Music and Theatre.
Nick Reynolds, a 2008 graduate of the theatre program, said Marshall gave him the right tools to develop his craft and challenged him to grow.
“Marshall helped me figure out what my process is,” said Reynolds. “Everybody that starts off in the acting world figures they have something to bring to the table, that they have a talent and that’s enough. I’m not one of those people. I think if you want to be a professional in this world you have to have a craft that you can point to and say, ‘This is why I do it, and this is how I do it.’”
In 2010, after graduating from Pennsylvania State University’s Master of Fine Arts program, Reynolds made the move to New York City and has found work in television with small roles on shows such as the Cinemax series “The Knick,” the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black,” and a role on the upcoming second season of another Netflix series, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
Reynolds said his management company, Davis Spylios Management, has been instrumental in helping him find work.
“The first three years were a real struggle to find representation in a manager or an agent that ‘gets me’ and someone I wouldn’t just get lost with,” said Reynolds. “But Davis Spylios Management, [which] I’ve been with the past two years, has helped me book some really good roles.”
For one graduate, her success has not been in theatre, but in a number of areas. From magazine writing to television commercials to the food industry, Caitlin Haught Brown has done a little bit of everything.
After graduating from Marshall in the spring of 2009, Brown spent the following semester working for the crew of “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.” Her work with the show’s food team inspired her to continue her education in a different direction by attending Mountwest Community and Technical College’s culinary program.
Since moving to New York City, Brown has worked for many clients, including Martha Stewart Living magazine and The Food Network.
Brown said though she is not directly working in theatre, she still uses her theatre education every day.
“We learned to be creative, but also how to be collaborative and to use that to yield the best results,” said Brown. “A lot of those skills have translated to what I do now. I’ve really found a lot of parallels that have followed me to New York.”
For Jordan Bean, Josh Meredith and Patrick Taylor, the key to finding work was to create it themselves.
Bean, Meredith and Taylor founded their own production company, Dark Matter Productions, which opened its first show, “Pretty Theft,” in November at The Celebration of Whimsy Theatre in the Lower East Side.
Taylor said the name of the company stems from the group’s desire to produce work that focuses on the darker matters in life and topics that are often underrepresented, such as neurological disorders and women’s issues, which are each found in “Pretty Theft.”
Taylor, who has Tourette’s Syndrome, said he loves the idea of bringing awareness to issues that are often misinterpreted.
“We want to use art as activism,” he said.
Bean, who majored in public relations and minored in theatre, said she, Meredith and Taylor all bring different skill sets to the table that complement each other.
“Because of my communication background, I picked up a lot of stage managing jobs,” said Bean. “I’ve also done directing. I have more experience on the production side of things while Patrick and Josh are actors. We were all doing our own thing in theatre in different ways, but we figured the best way to make sure our work is seen is to create it ourselves.”
Meredith, unfortunately, couldn’t be there for the opening of “Pretty Theft,” but only because he was in Toronto rehearsing with Disney Cruise Lines to be a main stage performer on the Disney Magic.
Meredith said he has enjoyed a lot of success since moving to New York City, a dream he’s had since he was young. Upon relocating, he brought his one-man show, Josh M!, which he developed at Marshall, to a small cabaret.
While the alumni now feel as though they have a good hold on the city, each noted the challenges New York presents, including culture shock and financial stress.
“I had vacationed there several times, but no one could’ve prepared me for the challenges I faced moving there initially,” said Meredith. “Luckily, I got to move with two of my best friends, so we had each other when things got tough.”
Reynolds said that no matter how prepared you try to be, the expenses of the city often catch up.
“That’s the biggest problem for an actor in New York; you have to find your bread and butter,” he said. “Sometimes you have to make the choice between going to work or going to an audition. That’s one of the toughest problems.”
Cirillo said each of these graduates has done well in New York City in the face of adversity.
“To me, it says so much that they are all in some way, shape or form still involved in theatre when clearly by this point in time they know how difficult the climb is,” said Cirillo. “Yet, they are still persevering and trying to make a go of it in New York, the greatest theatre city in the world. I have such great respect for them, not only as former students, but as artists. I’m so respectful of what they’ve been able to accomplish and I can’t wait to see where they go.”
The alumni do their best to keep in touch and see each other when possible, but note their busy schedules make it difficult. However, they often support one another by way of social media as the number of graduates relocating continues to grow.
And as Reynolds noted, “We definitely feel like there is a Marshall heartbeat in New York City.”
Rebecca Stephens is the managing editor of Marshall Magazine.
Photos: (from second from top) Nick Reynolds appeared in season three of the hit Netflix series “Orange is the New Black.” Marshall theatre alumni catch up with Don Van Horn, dean of the College of Arts and Media. Reynolds (right) in a scene for “Alpha House,” a web series produced by Amazon Studios. Patrick Taylor (left) and Josh Meredith (right) during a performance of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Caitlin Haught Brown performing in Marshall’s production of “The Glass Menagerie.” Reynolds (right) starring in the comedy “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” Taylor and Bean with the cast of “Pretty Theft,” Dark Matter Productions’ first show that opened in November. Taylor and Bean during an intimate scene in Marshall’s presentation of “The Last Night of Ballyhoo.”