Broadway Star Joined: 8/1/07
What are some Broadway performers who didn't go to college for musical theater/voice/etc.? I'm sure there must be a bunch, but who actually makes it to the stage and is successful?
I could be wrong, but I remember reading an interview with Eden Espinosa one time and she said she hadn't gone to college.
Ali Ewoldt (Cossette in Les Miz) has a bachlors in psycology from yale, and no degree in acting, singing,etc...
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/12/06
Carolee Carmello went to school for business. I believe she's never taken voice lessons, either- which is incredible
Broadway Star Joined: 7/12/07
yep eden worked at disneyland & universal instead
from a broadway.com interview:
I never went to school; I spent my college years working. These jobs helped me to find my own way, in terms of performing."
http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=42348
"Carolee Carmello went to school for business. I believe she's never taken voice lessons, either- which is incredible"
-wow!
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/06
i dont think jon groff or jonathan gallagher went to college.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/12/07
a lot of the spring awakening cast didn't go to college, prob because everyone is so young. some are in school currently though.
Many, many performers are and were very successful onstage without college degrees- not just the people of the most recent generation listed. Some people have "it" naturally. Ethel Merman never got a freakin' Tisch degree.
Broadway Star Joined: 9/21/07
A lot of the SA cast are still too young for college!
At the risk of annoying a lot of people who have their degrees in this field...it isn't a necessity to have a degree in something theatre related to make it, at all. If you've got it, you've got it.
Eden did go to college...I don't know if she completed her degree, but she did go. Cause she went to my college.
Here is a video of her as an alumni sponsor:
http://theatre.fullcoll.edu/alumni.asp
Many of them even learned how to spell "college," too.
I don't believe NORM LEWIS (Les Miserables Revival (Javert), Little Mermaid(King Triton)) went to college for theatre, but I could be wrong. I thought I read an interview somewhere that said he did something with journalism.
That's very true but its becoming much more standard.
Broadway Star Joined: 8/1/07
"Many of them even learned how to spell "college," too."
My keyboard sticks sometimes. Sue me.
sutton foster attended carnegie mellon for not even a year.
yes, i remember her saying on the American Theater Wings, Performing In The Theater and she said that they told her that she will never make it on Broadway and she will get no where.
Broadway Star Joined: 7/12/07
"A lot of the SA cast are still too young for college!"
yea i know, thats why i said, b/c everyone is so young. don't have to get harsh:
a lot of the spring awakening cast didn't go to college, prob because everyone is so young. some are in school currently though.
Neither Nathan Lane or Matthew Broderick attended college.
Christine Andreas told us at the stage door that she didn't go to college.
Broadway Star Joined: 8/1/07
I only ask because I've recently discovered how disappointed I am in the american schooling system. However, I wanted to go to college for the extra training.
There are probably just as many actors with degrees out of work as there are without. The only difference is the ones without aren't $180,000 in the hole.
Josh Groban dropped out of CMU.
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