Texas State University

Everybody. Happy Thursday. Happy week to Thanksgiving everybody. I can't believe it. We have to still go get our cans of wobbly cranberry sauce in anticipation of the event. I am so excited to have Tom and Kira here from Texas State. I know that we've talked a lot, individually and as a group everybody about the real incredible benefits of the university and the program. So I'm just so so jazzed to hear more today. So I'll start with you Tom. First of all, thank you again for being here. How did you get from where you were to where you are? Yes, originally from Canada, from Lothbridge, Alberta, Canada, right outside of Calgary. But I funny enough, so right after I graduated my university musical theater program, I did Disney Cruise Line where I met a lot of people who had just graduated their American programs and they were telling me, "Oh yeah, how amazing they were." And they're like, "You should move to New York." And so I did. I moved to New York and it was kind of like from there on, I did 20 years performing professionally and yeah, did it cut out, I apologize for that. Yeah, so I performed for 20 years and I did all kinds of things, national tours and I always wanted to work on a brand new musical and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and I got to do that, which was really exciting. But I was doing that when I was kind of sitting in the room and I was like, "I want to move people around." I want to do this a little bit differently and I was just like, "Bring to go over in a different way." And so it was around that time that I was like, "I wonder if I could move into directing a little bit." And so I started to dabble in directing and then I really kind of made a decision and I was like, "I want to go to grad school for directing." And I started talking to my friends and I had a friend that went to Texas State University for directing graduate program. And so I applied and I started researching and I was like, excuse me, look at this faculty, first of all, I want to work with all these humans. Kira was there at the time and there was Caitlin and Cassie and all these amazing people and so I applied and I was so grateful to get in on a, it was a directing musical theater track with their MFA directing program. And so right away I started working in the musical theater department and that area and working with the students and really getting to know the faculty and the head of the program. And so it just kind of, it was a very organic process. Kira and I got to, we were working on a show, we were working on Guys and Dolls when it got, we had that, that was the COVID year, but I'll just never forget I was like, this just feels like such a family here, like a real community. The faculty just felt so welcoming and open and the way everybody was thinking about how we could educate the students was like right on brand with what I was hoping to do with my life. And so it was kind of, yeah, I kind of got organically just like moved into the musical theater area. So as soon as I graduated, Caitlin Hawkins who was here at the time was like, hey, I'd like you to stay and why don't you take the freshman musical theater acting classes and you can also teach directings. I know you want to do that. So I still get to teach some directing, but really I moved over to the musical theater program and it's just by being so close with, it was Caitlin and Cassie at the time, they really kind of guided me through. I'm like, hey, here's how the program really works. I was just really curious. And so it really was an organic thing for me to kind of move into when we, when we faced into a co-head program, like a trifecta as it were of three co-heads that run the program, it felt really natural that I would kind of take over the whole production area and you know, like get to making sure that the show was getting produced in a certain way and all of that. And so yeah, it was really exciting and you know, we've Aaron Brown is our other co-head. And last year we, you know, we convinced Kira to come on back down to Texas State, which was truly one of the most exciting things for me. And so that's that's sort of my journey to Texas State. Can I ask what ship you were on, Tom, when you were with the company? With Disney, I was on Magic 13 and we have alumni right now that are on like Magic 50 something like I know. I know. I know. I was I was Magic and Wonder and Fantasy. I was a I was a guest comedian for the for the line for a long time. And I remember when we got to like Magic, you know, 25, I was like, how much longer can they do this? And now they're like, Magic 90. I know. I know. Look at all the people who have done it right. And it's just pretty, it's exciting to see what happens. Yeah. I got there right after Jennifer Hudson left and I was like, oh, we're at least to account for me a word. Look at that. Yep. So Kira, how about you? What's your story? How do you get from where you were to where you are? What's my story? My story takes as many places. My my professional career began right out of college. I went to Elon University and graduated in the early 2000s and went straight on tour and long, long story short, climbed my way through the non equity equity world and ended up in New York City. I did about five Broadway shows. I worked on a television show called Smash. Got that green lit with a good friend named Josh Bergas, not the name drop. So I really had quite a successful and very fulfilling performance career which left me burnt out quite young. So my husband and I decided to relocate to Austin, Texas randomly and an academia fell in my lap. So I'm one of the few faculty who I do not have a terminal degree. I have equating professional experience for my academic work. And so I've now taught at three universities. I started at Sam Houston State in just north of Houston, which happened while we were kind of in flux between New York and Austin. And then and then I was I was invited to Texas state and I loved Texas state. I started out as musical theater dance faculty. I was a lecturer track. And then I had a baby and COVID happened and my my family life just took a turn. And so that's when I went up to Syracuse University. And so I have spent the last five years up at Syracuse as an assistant professor there. Again, five years later, Texas state called and when this this the new you know structure of the co head, co head team was starting to take shape. I could not wait. I had missed Texas states since the day I left. Because as Tom mentioned, just you know, the way retrain, the size of our classes, the community, the culture, it's just very much me. And as a working professional, this feels this is the environment that I want to be teaching in. And so, excuse me, so now we're back. And so I've just started this fall as the third co head and my my main duties, Tom is kind of production and I work recruitment and curriculum. And just as a fun like side career, I've also taken on taken on a world career of recreating West Side Story for opera companies worldwide. So I love that academia allows me to be a full-time professor. I was just in Sydney, Australia. I did it in the Chicago Lyra, Houston Grand Opera. I'm going to the Kennedy Center in the spring. So that's also like a really precious part of honestly part of my tenure package that you know, we're professional continuing working actors and directors and choreographers. And we get to be in this incredible learning environment, giving our students that that world, you know, that world knowledge of the industry. So I think that's I want pretty fast, but that's me. That's not way academia. That is, I mean, I think that is so cool and such a benefit for the students that faculty are remaining working professionals. I think it can and this isn't an act to anybody, like I'm not thinking of anyone, but like it can be a real temptation to kind of ossify and just kind of like get used to just just teaching the instruction and the technique and forget how that feels in your bones when you're teaching it to somebody. You know what I mean? Well, in the industry, it's just, I mean, evolving daily. And so if you're not in it and you're not living it, you're not experiencing it, it's hard to, it's hard to give students the most up-to-date information. Oh my gosh, totally. I mean, it's a it's a it's a far cry in what it was 15, even 15 years ago. Like it's like, can you imagine a digital showcase 15 years ago? Like they'd be like, what musicals on the internet? No way! It's true. And especially in the last five years, things have changed so much to me. Yeah. So you know, when it comes to to that just on the subject of showcase when it comes to that element of professional connections for four students. What do that be? Guest directors or you know, summer stock or whatever. It's a big umbrella. Tom, can you talk a little bit about that in terms of what those opportunities are like? Yeah, we have so many opportunities actually and we are, it's been kind of fun this fall because of course Kira coming in has brought in a whole new group of guest artists that we could bring in and we've just been like, you know, booking people up like crazy and we also have a whole new works initiative that we have at Texas State where we do bring in really prolific writing teams who are currently working in the industry and they get to workshop their new musicals with our students. Get that like immediate like hands-on experience and that relationship building. Yeah. But we really do focus on like bringing in guest artists who are going to provide a type of education that is on-brand with our values but it's also a really really great way to start building a relationship before they get to New York. Yes. Even our senior showcase is the New York portion of it is produced by Rachel Hoffman of Tells E.K. Oh, right. So and so like I'll do the on-campus producing and then we start working with Rachel and our founder Hopkins in New York to really keep those connections going. We have some like really exciting guest artists happening right now and they're from like a variety of fields right. We'll bring in somebody who specializes in voice or intense or a director will come in and work with our students. It's just making sure that we are kind of giving them industry expertise from all areas and it is about building that relationship and I think Kira could even speak to this how important those relationships are in your career in general and that is something that I think here and I both feel very similarly about it's like that was such a huge part of my career was the relationships I built with the creative teams and such always led to my next job right. Like auditions are one thing but then it's those relationships are about get you back in the room with these people and so really it's exciting to watch our students leave here and be like oh I know this person before I even walk into the audition room because I've worked with them at school. Yeah so you know we know that is so cool. Yeah we build it out as much as possible for them. That is so cool. Kira. Oh I would just add we do have one of the highest attended showcases in New York and in terms of summer work like Tom said right we are constantly in contact with summer theaters summer stock theaters personally reaching out saying hey these students have submitted or putting together Texas State packages and you know and we feel that feedback from those producers and casting directors directly so we're really hands on when it comes to helping our students get cast. Yeah and even so if our students have an interest in something you know a couple years ago they were like what is it like to audition for a cruise line and so we bring in Norwegian every year to do kind of a world audition and then Disney live comes in because that encompasses all of Disney like worldwide. Even today we got a call from a casting director asking for submissions for certain students and I was just like this is great like this relationship is so important so it's very exciting yeah. And how what are you aim for in terms of size of incoming freshmen in the MT program? 12 to 14. Okay right excellent excellent. What is the you know someone who's coming from California or Florida or Montana or you know internationally you know what's the is a very general question what's the vibe like in the greater Austin San Marcos you know area especially if I'm coming in and I'm like out and proud like I'm wearing my trans cape everywhere I go like like what's the vibe? I always like to say like we kind of live in the blueberry where we are because it is from like Austin all the way down to San Marcos and it is a very open community. So myself I a lot of the producing I do outside of school is something called Queer Detail which is a storytelling series that happens all over the country and so I feel very comfortable we run a whole series in Austin and we won like Best of Austin for the last two years which has been really exciting you know and so it is it's very welcoming a lot of the groups and our community groups and such will reach out and be like hey can we get group tickets to the musicals they're just very like investing program and making sure that everybody understands that there's a community here and that was a big thing for me and that's the reason that I'm still here is because I did feel like wow there is a place for me here and I feel I love I love going to Austin and doing that work and meeting people from like all ages and all different walks of life it's it's very it feels very welcoming. Yeah and San Marcos itself is a very laid back hippie college town. ironically yes you know it's it's all walkable there's a historic district within walking distance we have a river that goes through our campus which is a huge and it's beautiful sweet and filled the river near around yeah from 72 degrees year round it's so clear that flowers under water it's just it's so beautiful yeah that's awesome yeah I know Drew like I when I was like I can't believe I'm leaving New York State to go back to Texas. And and and I knew how it was here and that brought me a lot of peace and I did I had missed it this this particular community. I mean totally and you know this this speaks to to a broader thing to to everyone watching live and on the podcast on the recording this is why it's so important to do your digging before you either say yes or no to a college right as a school in New York. Oh my god New York City but oh no there's 12 people to a dorm and like you know they don't give any aid school in Texas. Texas oh but you can be out and proud you got the great support of community so like it's so so so important to to do your due diligence before you write off of school or add it to your yes list right not every school is right for every student everybody just just a reminder right I knew that I wanted to like go to football games and double major and all that kind of stuff and I knew I didn't want to conservatory because like you know I love actors I couldn't live without actors but there are times that I don't want to live around actors and so like I knew that I wanted to dorm with someone who didn't have my major that I could you know take other classes on that subject actually do you do you have empty students who will minor or or try to double major absolutely we have a lot of minors actually and so we say we have some we do have some double majors and to that I say these are people who are the masters of time management and they come in with AP credits when they come if they be credits but something to think about if you want to do a minor or double major is choose your electives accordingly right the ones that are required to meet the empty curriculum well choose those so that you're already starting to build that minor and so it's only a few other courses after that but we definitely have had people double major we have one right now one of our seniors is going to be a double major and it's probably one of the most like calm whenever I talk to them they're like oh yeah classes are fine and I'm like wow it's it's it's it's always nice when you meet an artist who and I'm saying to someone who kind of only has access to the right side of their brain meet an artist who has access to both hemispheres of their brain with like I'm double majoring in neuroscience and musical theater it's always just very very impressive you know there was a good question asking with the double majors and it's in publicity and marketing for entertainment yeah oh my god what a useful skill for an actor yeah oh my gosh yeah so you know the the umbrella for the whole department is is pretty big right we've got we've got empty we've got acting and then there are there are other disciplines right there's there's is there directing and a general theater program there is there is directing there's also dance and there's film and the film is like a new BFA on its own degree just like the actor oh wow yeah and then we have what's called mp and p which is the general population who are a lot of those people might be stage management or a cool trying to figure out and there's also like the t-shirts who are wanting to teach drama in school and so we have the second largest theater department in the country so there's over we have over a thousand people in our department and so there is a lot wow and so we have our musical theater area and we're like 12 to 14 years you know but yeah now the exciting night was a lot going on and we have an MFA and we have an MFA in we have a design MFA for all of the design disciplines and for directing yeah can I can I dive into that a little bit more because you know we you know you so often get actors who are like, well, I can only get a piece of paper. >> Okay. >> I can only get a piece of paper that says one thing on it, right? But my degree is in this thing, but of course, in their beating heart, they have many, many interest. If I'm in the MT program, is there a firewall between MT and acting? Or can I audition for the plays and stuff too? >> We highly encourage you auditioning for the plays. Do it all. >> Yeah, they're required because with such an important thing, you look right now, the amount of plays that are being produced versus musicals on Broadway. It's very important that you work in the plays. They also built into our curriculum is TV film acting as well because that is- >> Oh, great. >> This become a real necessary. Yeah. >> Oh, that's cool. And then for the, we have a couple students who are like, yeah, I'll get my degree in musical theater or whatever, but I want to be a director choreographer. I want to do bubble-blah, but I know if I get my degree in dance, it's not going to be the same avenues, the same opportunities. So if you get a hungry kid who's like, can I be the associate? Can I be the dance captain? Can I be there? Is there room for that kind of enthusiasm? >> That. We have these tracks built into our musical theater area. And so even right now, my, I had an associate director on Swini Todd, one of our seniors choreographed it. I had a senior choreographer, guys and dolls last year. So it's like their build-in tracks was producing, directing music direction. >> Wow. >> Like we make sure if there's an interest in that and it's, we do encourage people to do it so that you know, you can broaden your scope of what you understand about it. And then understand that when you're not performing, sometimes you don't have to go work at the coffee shop. Sometimes you could assist somebody on a show, could help choreograph on a show. So we've also brought in guests artists like that who are younger. We brought in Tuan Melonowski a couple years ago to co-coiograph rent. And Tuan just did the "Drawly Shapiro" net. >> Right. >> Right. And like it was so cool for our students to see this, you know, person who was assisting and now go on and do this other thing, but it's just this incredible performer as well, an amazing artist, right? Yeah. And we have a choreography club. Maybe Kurek can talk about that a little bit. >> Yeah, there's a lot of interesting choreography, which is so exciting. And another reason I just love this program and it makes this really unique. So as Tuan was saying, you know, if kids come in and they're interested in choreography in any way, first of all, we offer swing, swinging on the shows, dance captains, assistants, associates, and then co-coreography. And there's a choreography club, which is completely student-produced student-run. And so once a year, you know, kids audition and they put up a dance concert of their own work. And that just happened in the fall. And it's an incredible night. And just, you know, one of the many student clubs that we created and facilitated and now kind of have handed over to the student body. But that's a really feather in our cap as well, is the opportunities to create. And we're really a yes program. It's like, if you come to us and you say, Hey, is there any way I could do dot, dot, dot? We're probably going to say yes. And how do we do it? Yeah, you know, and it is always so inspiring to me when I have someone come to me and say, Hey, I want to get a degree in musical theater. But there's a chamber of my heart that is reserved for making wigs and costuming and being a production manager. And I don't want to let that go. And it just sounds like Texas state is saying, yes, they answer whatever your question is, yes, you can do what? Yes, yeah. I had one of our current seniors last year was like, I just really want to know what it is to run a spotlight. And I was like, I can make that happen. And so you're one of the spotlight operators on sister act. And I was just like, this is amazing. We also have a junior in Spiny Todd, who assistant music directed. And so like last night he sat in the pit and, you know, he assisted the whole show, but now he gets to sit in the pit and just he's like, I just want to see what it's like. We're like, great. You can put in the pit. No, that I mean, God, talk about a big job. I mean, like, you know, there are certain shows where like you can do the songs in your sleep. Spiny Todd's not one of those. We'll start. You know, a lot of people when they audition, they see, you know, like we do love, because like we have a whole pop rock curriculum as well. And a lot of people will play guitar and such. And we have a singer, songwriter club that in the fall meets every weekend. And they so many of them have gone on to do the Johnny Mercer foundation singer, songwriter initiative in the summer, which is so exciting where they get to go and just like work with incredible people. But they do a showcase at the end of the fall semester. And it's always just, it blows my mind with what they're doing in this club. And it's just the musical theater students, some of them play guitar, some piano, some of them don't play any instrument, but they write lyrics or they just want to be a part of it. Really exciting thing. And some of them have written musicals along the way. And we've workshopped them for them. Yeah. That is so cool. This is guys, this is about as far away of a of a cookie cutter kind of experiences you can get everybody like this is for the for the multi-hyphenate artists who has, you know, a million dreams. Like this is, this is so cool. And I want to touch on, because I had a kid, I had a kid ask me the other day, we were doing a mock audition and I was like, so what questions do you want to ask this school? And clearly he had heard some things about Stanislavsky that were not true, I think in like interview and stuff. He was like, how do you make sure that I don't take home my character and have him melt down? And I was like, whoa, you're talking to the Stanislavsky meme you have to like, inhabit your character 24/7. So can you talk to me a little bit about like what, what, what kinds of acting techniques that you use and you're like acting one through four classes? You bet. And this is like built very intentionally in this way where we cover multiple methodologies. And the reason for that is, it's really important to us and like speaking specifically to what you were just saying. Yeah. That you understand how to use your imagination rather than like tapping into like past trauma. It's like under, you understand what a feeling is, but you don't need to relive that event over and over and then go home and be like depressed all night. Like, can you imagine trying to have like do it a year run of a show and live like that? It wouldn't be possible, right? Yeah, right. Like everything in our curriculum is built to be repeatable and sustainable, like through mental wellness. And so a lot of our acting curriculum is built to teach you the foundation of the methodologies so that you build a broader toolkit because not everybody takes to every methodology. And we know that about acting, right? Because if you were stuck in a program where it was like only myzner for four years and you didn't connect with myzner, it might be a really long for you. It's for you. Yeah. Right. Right. Right when you're as a lot of like, Hey, here's some really good foundational approach and what is your viewpoint as an artist and as an actor and how do you make it really your own, your own take on a character? Yeah. And then, you know, we do a lot of things like, well, we'll talk about Santa's loft scheme. We'll talk about Stella Adler. We'll do some Udah Hagen. And every class builds upon itself. So I'll do viewpoints next semester with the freshman and then we'll looking at like, here's the beginning exercises of myzner so that when they go into sophomore year with their realism, they'll start with more advanced myzner and then move on to another technique. It's built in that way. We do a lot of like, intense, they'll cover Leban and we'll do, I'll do rasa boxes with the sophomores. And we do things in our acting curriculum to really help you understand like, how do I bridge the gap? So in sophomore year, I teach, I co teach a class with one of the music directors. So I'm an acting teacher and directing teacher and she's a music director and voice teacher. And so we co teach a scene into song class. So you really understand, how do I apply all this acting when I'm in a rehearsal space? But like, how do I really refine that idea of like, making sure that the dialogue and the song are working together and like, what am I hearing in the music? And that class also encompasses for anybody out there who is like, oh, harmony is so scary. Amy Radik's who co-teaches with me is like the master at helping people get that under control and understand is not so scary. Has tools and then we're like, and now how do you act? And like, why are you singing that part of the harmony? What does that mean? Right. Right. Right. Yeah. And of course, like the G.P. film and improv classes, all kinds of things. Yeah. And so, you know, Kira speaking, you know, to a dance perspective here. If I come in and I am like, I can, I can belt the roof off the place and like, I can make you cry with monologue, but like, I have two left feet, you know, and you are interested in me. What is my dance journey going to be like? That's a great question. Well, first of all, I always remind applicants that we look for the whole person, right? So, and we have a very strong dance curriculum, but I never want anyone to be intimidated by that. Because when you come in, you are appropriately leveled. And so, as freshmen, you take two days of ballet and two days of jazz technique, but you're put in the correct level. And we understand that everyone is coming in with their own strengths, everyone's individuals. And so, kind of along the acting line in terms of the dance world, we don't subscribe to one. ballet technique to one jazz technique. It's really an offering of technical awareness, efficiency, strength, flexibility. How do you get your body to move? How your body is going to move? And of course more advanced dancers, you know, we work on that individual level. But you stick with your level, freshman year, and then you're going to musical theater dance, and that's where we discover styles and other techniques and audition techniques. We do mock auditions. I also, I also partner with the voice faculty, and I just finished a module where it's singing and dancing. So you learn an entire song, you learn your part, you learn an aerobic dance with it, and it's like, all right, we're asked to sing and dance all the time, but actually like, how? Right. So you're not just thrown onto a stage completely winded and unable to have any sense of how do you do music in the mirror on a dime, right? Exactly. Well, in funny, I did teach music in the mirror this semester, but the song we did was won the finale from Korsla with the high kicks at the end, and they're like, you know, I'm so very informative, and really super fun. Yeah, so, so, you know, there is a big, there's an equal emphasis on dance, which I also love, but not in an intimidating way, in a way that supports the individual, supports body positivity, movement positivity, and really just facilitates how, because everyone's body has to move through space, like whether you're a park and park or not. So how do you move body move through space and how do you evolve that? And, you know, some people come out of here after four years, completely transformed as dancers. Some people learn that they love to tap, and now they're like amazing tapers, and that's cool. Yeah, it can take on a life of its own, but it definitely starts at a very user-friendly, but high expectation place. I mean, I think that's the, that's the, I mean, this is my soap box, but I think that's the way to do it, is, you know, no, you know, no two people's abilities are the same, but we should expect your best efforts, no matter what level of that you're at. And I like that we're getting away from the Broadway body, and instead focusing on like the Broadway cardiovascular function. Right? Like, can I do this for three hours versus how do I look when I'm doing this? Well, nobody cares, your body is your body, but like a three hour musical, you know, that's, that's an NBA game, you know? Yeah. You were athletes, and that's that's always what I, you know, as my soap box, we are athletes, and we have to train as such. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, so if I'm coming in from, let's say I'm auditioning and I live in Nevada, and I get into the musical theater program, what is my dollar to dollar bill looking like? So we have our last dollar scholarship, which is very exciting, and how that works is everybody who comes in as a qualified freshman for this, and what it covers is the musical theater, like everything that you would need to take in your, in your curriculum for musical theater. And so what that does is so after all of your other scholarships and everything have come through, we see how much money is left that you need to pay on your tuition, and that gets, yeah. So it's, it's really a game changer, and it just gives opportunity to people, because, you know, school is expensive. We, you know, Texas State was always kind of affordable, but now I just make it even more affordable. And for housing and the room and board of it all for the dining halls and housing, it ends up being around 7,000 for the whole year, but I always encourage people to keep checking the websites because it updates every year, obviously, and see what it was, what I believe it is this year. And so it is something to consider, right, obviously, is that, yeah. And so if you are doing a minor or a major that isn't musical theater courses, then those won't be covered unless they're part of your elective package for musical theater. Oh, got it. Okay. But that, you know, just, just the last dollar, like that is so, so affordable when you're thinking about how competitive this business is and how rigorous of training that you need to be competitive and to not put yourself into a hundred thousand dollar, two hundred thousand dollar, you know, hit. Once you're out of it, that is a, you know, acting, seeing, dancing are great tools, but so is not having a shackle of student debt. That's also a tool that I can audition, I can take classes, I can bubble that, and I don't have to work 10 catering jobs. Yes, hopefully. And everyone qualifies for in-state tuition. So I know you're right. So as an out-of-state student, everyone qualifies for the in-state base rate. Wow. Wow. Wow. Yeah. Wow. Oh, that is, that is just too good. And it sounds like, you know, there's also a broader camp, I mean, because I watch, you know, I'm at the gym and I'm on the treadmill and I'm watching college football and there's Texas State, you know, playing football. So like, there's a real other whole campus out there. It's not just conservatory training. No, no, we have a, we have 40,000 students on the Texas State campus. And this was the biggest incoming freshman class in history. The, the university itself is also about to become an R1 research institution. So, you know, the, again, the irony is that Texas State is growing its programs, it's growing its faculty, it's growing its student body. And someone who's worked at several universities, that is not the case everywhere. So, you know, it, for me, that's, it brings a lot of, a lot of peace of mind that there's just, there's a lot of energy here and a lot of support. And the president of our university personally loves our program. He invited all the freshmen and the co-heads over to his house for dinner in September. And then we sang around the piano and sing songs. So he and his wife are extremely supportive of the program as well. Yeah. He got to the university. One of his things was, I want to make this a number one football team and I want a number one musical theater program. Oh, man, after my own heart. I know, isn't that wild? Yeah. So, you know, we're number what? 25 in the world. That was, that was a pretty, pretty quick, um, yeah, he put that on the vision board and it happened. Number two, okay, so. Four twenty three. Right. Twenty two. We climbed. That is incredible. Uh, okay. So for parents visiting or for kid going home, what's the closest airport and how long does it take to get there? Austin. And it takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 50 minutes depending on traffic. It's, oh, that's not bad. Oh, you got it. That's a little bit. Yeah. Where is where a legitimate suburb of Austin? Yeah. Uh, you can also try to understand it. Tonyo, which is a little bit longer, but just as big of an international airport. No, actually, it's a big. That's exceptional. Yeah. That's terrific. Like, you guys, there are some programs that are like just awesome. Like if you go to, um, slippery rock, right? Or you go to Chico State, both are incredible musical theater programs. But man, it's easier to build your own airplane than to get to the airport. Oh, that is so cool. Um, Nikki B, do they attend the Dernified? We haven't talked about that yet. So like, that'll be conversation that we have after this Zoom for like next year. The Dernified's guide is my own unified that I do for kids who live in the West in the Western US who can't get to Chicago or New York. Um, so we, we offer it in California or Nevada as a chance for a kid, maybe whose, whose parents like maybe can't take time off or whatever to get to Chicago or New York. So, well, Nikki, we don't know what the future holds yet. We'll, we'll look into our crystal ball after, after we talk. Um, what is some of your guys' favorite things about, about the department that you get to work in? I'll tell you something. For me, it's, I feel like I'm friends with every other area. And I have some, and like our chair is extremely supportive of our program. And like, it just feels very like everybody's office doors are open. You can go and talk to other faculty. I feel like sometimes I'm just walking on the hallway and I'll pop in to talk to like a directing professor or a design professor. And I'll just talk about theater or, you know, it's like there's a group of professors and such and I like, we'll, I'll go hang out and we'll watch drag race on the weekend. Like it just feels like, you know what I mean? I'm like, there is that feeling of community wherever you go because like musical theater feels like a community, but there is a broader community. And I know Kira also has some like really good friends that teach in other areas in, within our school. And so it like, it's a big thing. Community is so huge, which is why it's also so important for our musical theater area. And I think our students would speak to that as well. And I just want to throw one more thing that is, I love, we have this big little program within our musical theater area, which is where you get like assigned a big coming in as a freshman. And it has grown into a family tree where people connect to like, oh my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, is so-and-so, is like, on a Use like, who lives in wherever, writers, and whatever Broadway show right now. And they'll go see that show and wait at the stage during their like, you're my great, great, great, great, great, great, and that person's always like, get in here and give me a hug. You know, it's just like this amazing thing in our alumni are so great at reaching back down and saying, hey, did you know that this has changed in the industry right now? Or in auditions right now, or asking us to do this? Make sure you communicate that to the student. And I'm just like, thank you. And it's like real time. They're like so invested in the program still and they're constantly touching back. We've had the outsider just came through and the alumni that are in it, playing Dallas and Cherry, came to the school and did like a Q&A and then we went as a whole program and watched it in San Antonio. And it's just like, and beauty and the beast is about to come through and our alumni are coming back. Like they want to be part of the program still. So that's my other favorite thing is like this community expands and it keeps growing. - I mean, you know, you're away from home for the first time, you're immersed in this kind of training and it can be real lonely surrounded by that many people when you don't have that sense of community. So to have all those people who are looking out for you and make you feel welcome, guys, that is so, so, you know, and I talk about this a lot, is that like you can take a class in something that you like, but if you're not happy, it's really hard to absorb the information, you know what I mean? So to make someone feel so welcome and so safe there, it just provides so much more porous material for the sponge to absorb, you know what I mean? How about you, Kira? What are some of your favorite things about the department? - Yeah, well, I mean, I would just echo the family community. I, that's the one, the biggest thing I missed when I took my 10 year away, the class size, even though we're on a campus of 40,000 people, we are in such a little utopia in our two buildings, and but it never feels like, oh my God, I gotta get out of here. It never feels like that. And I will say that it is a really good sign, if you're listening to, if you do other program talk backs, it's a really good sign when the faculty like each other, because that's also not always the case. And so, you know, Tom, Erin and I, I'm just so grateful that we get to co-lead together and for their leadership and their guidance. And everyone is so kind, so respectful, and we all want the same thing, we all want to grow the program and grow theater and make theater makers who want to be kind as well in the world, right, and make change. - Wow. - It's a really special place, and that's all I'm gonna say. - I just love it. - All right, so everybody who's watching live, oh, actually, Nikki does a question. You accept transfers if there's an opening in a given year. - You'd have to, if you come in as a transfer, even though you might be labeled, like you come into the university as let's say a sophomore, you'd have to work with the freshman class, however, if you come in as a sophomore, you wouldn't qualify for the last dollar scholarship. - Yeah, of course we would do everything we can to help you find other scholarships and such, and we have incredible advisors at the university who are really great at helping with that kind of thing, but we have accepted transfers in the past, yes, yeah. - Okay, cool. - Very great. And then this just popped in my mind. You mentioned that there's a BFA in like technical theater, right under the umbrella of the theater department, right? - Not one is, it's like, that's a good general BFA, but like specialized BFA's, we have our television and film, acting for television, for theater and film, at musical theater, and those are like the three main BFA, like specialized audition for BFA's. - So for someone who is like, hey, you know what, I wanna get really good at performing, but I don't wanna give up carpentry or electrics, or that kind of stuff. There's room for performers to deduct their toes into that too, right? - Yes, ARP, I will say our department is so robust, and if you come in as a PMP, there is no shortage of opportunity. Like we have our main production season, which is always six to eight shows, with like two to three musicals. But then there's also, we have a fully run student theater company with their own theater called the Jeremy Torres Lab Theater, they produce their own six shows season, then you have all the clubs that produce their shows. And like it's endless. You look around this, like I was walking around and I was like, oh, someone's doing spring awakening, oh, someone's doing right the cyclone. What is going on? - That is so cool. Gosh, I just love that. All right, so folks, as you're listening to this and the replay on the podcast, or you're watching this, if you have questions, Tom Kira, how can the people find you? Should you wish to be found for all questions? - I believe our, I haven't even looked at the website. Are our emails on the website? - I'm happy to leave my email in the chat Drew, and you can pass it away. - Okay, that'd be great Kira. What's your email address? - It's, I'll put in the chat. - Okay, great, awesome. - Yeah. - And truly anything. And right now, I'm kind of the point person for recruitment. And I work, we have an amazing recruitment admin as well. And so her name is Lauren. And so between the two of us, we're kind of the point people for this time of year. - Awesome, okay, great, great, great. Okay, well, y'all are just so generous with your time. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Great, thank you so much, Kira. I'm gonna make sure that I copy this. You're right. All right, so if you have any questions, Kira's email is right there. If you have questions that are more about like this process, let me know, I can answer those. And then I wanna remind everybody that we are only a couple of months away from Unified, which is gonna be super duper fun. So if you have not yet booked your warm-up sessions with us, don't forget you have already paid for that. So make sure that you get that on the books so we can help you out. Tom and Kira, will you be at Chicago or at New York? - I will be in Chicago, yes. - Okay, great. I would love to have a beverage with you at some point during the process. - Absolutely, yes, absolutely. - Okay, great. - This is everybody there. I mean, I absolutely love how it unifies. And it just, it's so fun. - I know this process is crazy. I know it's crazy and it can feel it, but just breathe and just take advantage of that time in that room to just connect. And see if it's really a place you wanna, if you wanna hang out with us for four years, right? - Yeah, that's right. - That's a good one. - That's a good one. - Yes. - Tom and Kira, can you stick around for just a minute? - Yup. - Awesome. All right, bye everybody. Thank you so much. Have a great weekend. Start that pretty black Friday shop and y'all. - Thanks. - Thank you. - Thank you. - You got it. See you, Rosco. Bye.