Saturdays in the Robert and Judi 新man Education Building in Denver, you’ll find a group of Colorado high school students exploring the craft of acting under the direction of UNC alumnus Andre 罗德里格斯 ’09, ’13.
“Our tag line is ‘Using theatre as a vital force in the lives of students,’” says 罗德里格斯.
罗德里格斯 is a teaching artist and Shakespeare 协调员 for the Denver Center for the Performing 艺术, a role that includes directing DCPA的青少年公司. He spends his Saturdays with teens from several Denver Metro-area high schools as they explore and build their skills through musical theatre.
罗德里格斯 credits his own skills development to the start he gained as a student in UNC的 College of Performing and Visual 艺术.
“I chose UNC for the quality of its theatre education program,” shares 罗德里格斯. It’s a quality that helped launch this two-time UNC alumnus and 博比G奖得主 into a 职业生涯 sharing a love of theatre with Colorado’s high school students.
“Whether you want to be a professional actor or not, there are transferrable skills like public speaking and composure under pressure.”
Recently 罗德里格斯 helped his students explore this value when he invited fellow UNC alum and former DCPA education program participant, Cashelle Butler ’14 to his class.
Taking questions from students, Butler walked through her 职业生涯 and college selection story, touching on her choice to attend UNC, performing in the national tour of 《妈妈咪呀!, and recently earning her equity card in DCPA production 第一次约会.
“Half of this business is networking and marketing yourself,” said Butler. “这是 important that you go to a well-rounded program, the more well-rounded the better. I got into UNC and it was the best!”
As a UNC student, Butler performed in on campus and Little Theatre of the Rockies productions and participated in the annual 新 York Showcase. 当她遇到 agents, she chose to manage her own 职业生涯 after graduation; moving to 新 York and putting in the hard work of casting calls and self-promotion.
Butler earned her big break when she joined the national tour of 《妈妈咪呀!.
“I started as an understudy for all three moms,” speaking of 《妈妈咪呀!"但是随着 the way some people quit and it was my moment.”
She assumed the role of Tanya and toured around the country with the 《妈妈咪呀! 告别之旅 2016 - 2017年.
After sharing insight on travel, self-care and self-confidence, Butler closed the conversation responding to 罗德里格斯’s request for a final bit of advice.
“Make sure that you’re nice. The industry is so small, so represent yourself kindly 和良好的.”
Butler brought her advice and experience full circle by sharing tips to aid the Teen Company students in their group rendition of a song from 汉密尔顿.
Thank you to the Denver Center for the Performing 艺术 education and communications staff, and UNC alumni Andre 罗德里格斯 '09, '13 (左上)及 卡谢尔·巴特勒，14岁 (above right) for opening their class and experience to the UNC 校友会. We appreciate the shared commitment to excellence in education and the arts.
