A Week in my Life! (As an MFA Graduate Acting Student) | Cleveland Playhouse / Case Western Reserve

[@GavinMichaels]

✨HI THERE GORGEOUS! ✨ Feel free to continue watching this video, BUT you should know I've made a newer (and higher quality) version of this same video focusing on Year 2 of my training. kzbin.info/www/bejne/naKqiIGllK6khdk Best of luck on your grad school journey ❤

[@Matthew-rh6ei]

Love the little Austin powers references at the end. Will concur will my fellow Brit that your RP is pretty dang good, though more newsreader than nobility heh, but you definitely are hitting the intonations well, good job. Amazed that this is an average week though, as sounds very busy, but I guess with performances and education combined, it is like two courses in one. Although not a degree I considered when I went to uni, I have family members who did, so this was really fun and a great insight to an acting degree. Keep up the content, and best of luck for the future.

[@GavinMichaels]

Oh god please don't judge me by that RP haha, I can do so much better! I'll save it for a time you can see me on stage and doing a british piece lol And I'm glad you enjoyed!

[@willwestray]

This is really helpful. It’s hard to get to know a school from their website or their social media. It’s great to get a sense of what the student body and class setting is like. I wish more people did this lol

[@GavinMichaels]

Agreed! That's part of the reason I made this video, just because when I was searching for schools I wanted to know what an ACTUAL day looked like, not just what a pamphlet would tell me. Hope you got something out of it, and break a leg with your grad school auditions!

[@willwestray]

@@GavinMichaels I sure did! Thanks a lot!

[@DamonMedekMusic]

Looks fun and chaotic. When I went to music school I learned a lot I couldn't learn in a book or even on my own and I still leverage that knowledge everyday. Your teachers feedback is critical and I'm sure they really like you. However, I hope they teach you marketing too. Thats the other 50% of being an actor or any artist. I've learned to approach fans in four stages. 1. getting acquainted 2. showing interest in them when they contribute in the slightest. 3. ask them to help or be involved 4. reward their involvement. A lot of artists just do the same marketing for everybody and nobody is more guilty of that than me. Because getting fans involved is the goal (which they should because you're awesome!) and if you have an audience in your back pocket, that will more likely get you hired than just talent alone. Thats just some real world knowledge I wanted to share.

[@GavinMichaels]

Business is a huge part of it. Largely in acting it's networking, who you know, making connections etc. It's hard to do it well without coming off like someone who's trying to "network." That said another big thing they do for us is give us an NYC Showcase so we'll have an agent coming out of school, as well as an Equity card, which allows us to work Union Jobs in New York or around the US, which is huge. Thanks for sharing your wisdom man I appreciate it!

[@warriorspath4757]

Great to see you are enjoying school. I always enjoy your enthusiasm, and your appreciation for the world around you. That is a beautiful city you are in... and a decent manga collection : ) Hope spring arrives soon there. You reminded me of a favorite quote, which I will share... There must be mastery at every moment - getting up in the morning, working, eating, going to bed. That is the place for mastery of self. Have glorious semester, and restful weekends. TTFN

[@GavinMichaels]

Thank you! It is a gorgeous city, though admittedly there's as much beauty as there is decay. Cleveland has a fascinating and very turbulent city, thought I'm enjoying it all the same. I love that quote! Developing discipline is honestly one of the hardest parts of life in general, but the important thing is each year I feel I'm getting better at it. Thanks for your comment!

[@somethingstrange9804]

As a Brit, your British accent is pretty darn good!

[@GavinMichaels]

Ha! Thanks, I sure tried my best. Get ready for my Irish Dialect soon. That will be a fun one.

[@thomaskai6341]

That all sounds amazing! I'm going into university for music film and drama in september and i'm super looking forward to it. The 2nd level education system is a nightmare i cant wait to be a thrIVING nuerodivergent arts student haha. Cleveland looks incredible!

[@GavinMichaels]

That’s awesome! Haha college can be very difficult needless to say, but that the same time so much fun. I hope you have a blast! 😄

[@kendallseibel2309]

Hello! Thanks for this video! There are shockingly few vids out there for MFA students. I'm going to get my masters this fall and Case Western is the school I am most interested in. I was just wondering how you liked the program! Thanks in advance for reading this!

[@GavinMichaels]

I know right? When I was applying to grad school it felt like there were basically the same three videos going around about what a day was like for an MFA student, so I figured I'd offer my perspective to add to the resource pool lol. Case is an amazing program, I'm very gratefiulI found it, and I hope you audition! If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or shoot me a dm on insta. Take care, and break a leg on all your grad school auditions!

[@-wojo-1095]

Great video!

[@GavinMichaels]

Thank you!!

[@cameronbrooke9047]

What are your go-to meals given that you're busy most of the day? I'm going to grad school for theatre design in the fall and am curious how to balance classes while still making sure to care of myself on a tight budget. I feel like I'm going to struggle to make time for myself. I'm the type of student who always wants to get ahead of things so I find myself working/being stressed and not setting time aside to be 'me time'. Thanks for sharing your week!

[@GavinMichaels]

If you're on a super tight budget (and don't have your parents support) I highly recommend looking into food stamps for your state. Most students qualify provided you don't have a ton in savings or are a dependent. In general though, I'm a vegetarian which already saves a ton of money, because tofu and peanut butter is very cheap haha. My go to's are spaghetti with red sauce and some fake meat, rice and seasoned baked tofu, Peanut butter sandwiches, bagels and cream cheese, quesadillas with hummus and beans, rice, beans corn and salsa to make a bowl, and the good ol fashioned ramen, but I recommend adding some bok choy or baked tofu. Bananas and apples are really cheap and so are baby carrots and cucumber for fresh produce. Avoid pre-packaged frozen meals unless they're super on sale. You can usually make your own thing in bulk for much cheaper. I don't drink cows milk, but I did in undergrad, so I will say cows milk will provide a lot of calories at pretty cheap if you really need. Otherwise be sure to check out food banks near you for stuff like that! Don't buy into the stigma against it. Food banks exist for a reason, and it's always better to ask for help than skip meals. Hope that helps some! Thanks for the comment :)

[@dvineyard94]

I’m in junior year for my undergraduate and stumbled upon this video. First I would like to thank you for sharing your story and for being so transparent! I’d love to discuss the process of applying to MFA programs. How wide should I cast my net, when it comes time to apply for MFA programs. Are you able to work a part time job during the program? What is the reality of balancing school with finances? Is there anyone you know who is TA while pursuing a MFA degree? Background: My undergrad is in theatre education and I’m concerned that my selection for undergraduate might stifle my chances in acceptance to an MFA Acting program, are there other students who are apart of the program that have non acting bachelors degrees? Thank you hope to hear back, Dillon Vineyard

[@GavinMichaels]

For applying, I would look at URTA's, where you can audition for dozens of MFA programs across the country at once, and I would ask yourself what you're really looking for in a Grad Program, which is different for everyone. When you know what that is, and what your expectations are, it will be much easier for you to make a selection if you do get an offer - and it will help you with researching the schools that may not take part in URTA. For this program you cannot work a part time job, and most MFA programs that are really worth your salt you wont really be able to. That said, all of us have mini-sidehustles that are extremely flexible, wehther that's catering or ubering or something like that so that in case we do have an easy week we can work as necessary. But you can't have a job that keeps a regular schedule in most cases, there's just not enough time. School with finances is important to me, I was determined to graduate without any debt, and the program I'm in gives me $1500 a month (and covers 50,000 a year in tuition) to make sure I'm able to. That said, it's in Cleveland, which is a really really cheap city to live in. If you're in LA or NY, you're going to be hemorrhaging money just to cover your basic needs. Which will hurt the chances you can do acting long term. So consider how expensive the place is to live where you're planning on going, and how much the grad school is going to pay you (if any). This program has no TA part of it, since the emphasis is in Acting. I know programs that do, but for my taste, I wanted to stay away from them since I'm not trying to become a drama teacher at this point in my life, I would rather focus all my time on my training. My undergrad had nothing to do with acting, it was in Political Communication and Rhetoric lol, so that's not too much of a factor. What matters is that you have knowledge, some experience, you audition well, and most importantly: You show potential. They don't expect you to be perfect, but they want to see someone who has a baseline level of talent, and someone who can be coached to be much stronger. Hope that helps a little! Feel free to reach out with any more questions!