Spotlight on Alumni: Zoie Palmer

Zoie Palmer

We spoke with Zoie Palmer (BFA 2001) about her work since graduating from the Acting Area in the Dept. of Theatre, and she shares some memories of her time at York.

Since graduating from York University's Fine Arts program in theatre, the journey up to this point has been filled with just about everything. I've experienced the heartache of losing parts to the sheer exhilaration of working with extraordinary actors and directors, all the way to getting roles I could have only dreamed of when I was in theatre school. Its been a  full journey and one I am so very grateful for. It may seem strange to be grateful for the disappointment of losing a job you have your heart set on, but for me it has made me who I am, it has made me the actor I am and it has given me the career I have today, so… grateful I am.

I'll give you some of the highlights, those moments since I graduated where I had to pinch myself, turn to the first person I saw on set and shout-whisper, “is this real or am I just drunk and hallucinating?” Working with Christine Lahti in my very first role ever on a movie called Out of the Ashes was  nothing short of spectacular. When my agent called and said, “You got the part, it's with Christine Lahti, oh and it's shooting in Lithuania,” I'm pretty sure I passed out while driving to an audition.

I did a movie in Montreal called The Reagans where I worked with Judy Davis and James Brolin, I played their daughter…Judy and James's daughter….amazing!! On the last day of filming Judy Davis was about to leave set for the last time because she had wrapped the movie, I had one scene left to shoot and she walked over to me held my two shaking hands and said, “You have the right heart for this,” and then she hugged me. I just stared at her my eyes as wide as saucers and I squeaked out “thanks” I'm still not entirely sure what she meant but I've never forgotten it. “The right heart for this,” I loved it. 

I did two seasons on a show called Instant Star where I played a goth rock musician who had a drinking problem. I had to sing and play guitar, neither of which I did especially well but the producers gave me a chance and I practiced everyday. Thank-you to Stephen Stohn and Linda Schuyler for one of the best jobs I've ever had!

I got my first series lead in a show called The Guard. I remember being on the plane flying to Vancouver and I just kept smiling like an idiot to the poor guy sitting next to me. I'm sure he thought Oh my god seriously, this is a five hour flight! 

I once worked with Greg Kinnear in the movie Godsend and M.Night Shyamalan in the movie Devil. I was worried that when I met M. Night (he introduces himself simply as 'Night')  I  was worried I would just point at him and scream, “You're the writer and director of Sixth Sense!” Gratefully, I did not.

I've also done several guest starring roles on shows like King, XIII, Call Me Fitz, The  Listener, Nikita and Murdoch Mysteries. Each of these experiences has taught me something, mostly that something is simply that there are so many talented people in this biz and I'm  one lucky so-and-so to have had the opportunity to work with them. I did a movie not long ago called The Untitled Work of Paul Sheppard where I played a porn fluffer, a part that garnered me an Actra nomination. I figured sooner or later it would have to be related to porn for me be nominated. (tee hee)

I've recently finished two movies, one called Cold Blooded, a crime thriller and one called Sex After Kids a comedy, both movies completely different but equally amazing to work on.  And finally (can you start a sentence with the word 'and'?) I've just wrapped filming the third season on a show called Lost Girl. It's a fantasy scifi-type show and I play a doctor and scientist to a group of creatures called Fae.

I sometimes feel like the luckiest person alive. I've wanted to act since I was a child and I think there was always this small part of me in a small corner of my brain at the back somewhere that never really believed it would actually happen. It's that part of me now that still whispers to myself on occasion,  it's a dream, none of this is real, but until then, I'm just going to remain grateful.

Okay, onto some questions:

What was your favourite place at York, and why?

I had many places I loved at York. I loved the CFT (Centre for Film and Theatre), hanging out there in between class with a coffee and then outside for a smoke where we'd watch people playing hacky sack. (That's when I smoked…I don't now.) I drank more coffee in that four years than I have in the 11 years since. I loved going to the Ab pub and drinking with all the peeps from the Fine Arts program. I loved eating at Blueberry Hill, I'd go there with my bff Sarah Foord and we'd eat chicken fingers and fries with gravy.  We'd all go dancing at this place called “The Underground” and since I lived on campus I could stumble home fairly easily….um stumble because I'm clumsy not because I was….never mind.  I loved Burton Auditorium, it is this huge theatre and just being inside there made me begin to dream. I'd look up at the ceiling and at all the seats and I'd think, this feels like home to me. I had my very first class ever in Burton Auditorium, it was acting 1010 and it was taught by this incredible woman and teacher Darlene Spencer. One of the luckiest things that ever happened to me was being taught by Darlene, she was and is an exceptional teacher and believed in me as an actor. She is very much part of the reason that I make my living this way today! Even thinking back to that time gives me goosebumps because it was the beginning of my adventure, my journey to now and I was filled with such excitement, such hope. I had no idea where I'd ultimately end up when I began my training but I remember barely being able to contain myself knowing that I would spend the next four years of my life learning to act. I still sometimes can't believe that people are allowed to act for a living and back then I couldn't believe that a person could get a university degree training to become one.  Thanks York U for that!

If you had the chance to go back and visit your younger self as you were beginning at York, what advise would you give yourself?

I think I would tell myself to go a little easier on myself, that this is a time of learning not of judging. I remember being hard on myself in theatre school when I didn't feel like I was as good as I should be or as good as other people in my year.  Theatre school is this bubble and we assume that whatever goes on in those four years is indicative of how it will all go after, and it's just not necessarily the case. I struggled in theatre school and there were times when I thought perhaps I don't have what it takes to do this for a living. I would love to go back and say, stop worrying about all that, just learn here what you can. I think I would also tell myself that just because something isn't making sense now doesn't mean it never will. There were things I learned about the craft of acting when I was in theatre school that never really made any real sense to me until I was out, until I was in a different place with new people. I'd be on set sometimes going, “Ohhhhhhh, I get it!”

What did you do for the first summer out of the program?

Well I looked for an agent. I didn't get one while I was in school like some people did. I'm sure York still does this now, in our fourth year we would do two big shows and agents would come and watch us and then approach the students who they were interested in repping once we graduated. I was not one such student, I had a little bit of interest but nothing major. I remember being pretty heartbroken about it at the time especially when other actors in my class had interest from agents. I mention this because I suppose I could have decided it meant I wasn't very good or that I wouldn't work once I graduated. Instead I picked myself up and brushed myself off and went and pounded that pavement. I got my head shots and resumes together and made up little packages and I dropped them off at every reputable agency in Toronto. A week later I called and bugged them, and then a week after that and bugged them some more. I kept bugging them until a few of them let me come in for an interview and I finally landed an agent and began to audition. Don't give up. Do not  give up, do you hear me?!!

Also that summer I worked in sales for a big recycling company to pay off some debt and then two friends and I got an apartment downtown. My roommates were both aspiring actors too and we all helped each other with auditions and learning lines. We were like The Golden Girls and when one of us lost a job or had a terrible audition we'd sit around the kitchen table and eat and smoke and drink. I loved those two room mates and still do…You know who you are… xox to you both! 

I'm very grateful to York University in a lot of ways, my time there, the faculty, and resources York offers are incredible. It was not always easy, in fact some days were harder than I could have ever imagined. I remember whole months when I was so tired from class and rehearsal that I thought I couldn't possibly endure another day. I loved it though, I loved every last second of it, the good and the challenging.  It prepared me for what life as an actor is like. Doing a tv series is comparable, in a lot of ways, to that time. We shoot for nearly half a year and it's go go with 16 hour days and then it ends and you wake up one morning and it's over, you're on a break until the next season if there is one. All of this to say thanks York University for an amazing ride, you have a special place in my heart always.

Spotlight on Alumni: Sarah Thorpe

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Sarah Thorpe

Sarah Thorpe graduated from the Theatre program in 2007, specializing in Collective Creation and Devised Theatre. She currently works as an actor and is the Artistic Director of Soup Can Theatre. More info at sarahthorpe.net.

What was the most valuable thing you learned while studying in Theatre at York?

If you aren’t seeing the kind of work that you’re interested in being produced, then create it and produce it yourself.

Did connections, friendships, relationships you made at York help you afterward?

Absolutely! I’m thrilled that the connections I made at York are still strong today. Michael Greyeyes gave me one of my first acting jobs after I graduated. Peter McKinnon and Mark Wilson have written reference letters for me. I continue to go to my former instructors for coaching and assistance and I’ve had many opportunities to work with my fellow classmates.

In which ways has your education at York, and in Theatre in particular, helped you in work and life?

In the fourth year of Ensemble, with presenting our final productions, we had to do so much multi-tasking; not just with creating the pieces, but we were also the production and administrative crew. We were actors, writers, directors, designers, producers, and more all at once. I now work as an actor, director, and producer. I feel that having that experience of juggling both artistic and administrative responsibilities at York prepared me very well for what I’m doing now in my career.

Can you tell us a story of a moment where your training at York was clearly useful?

This past summer, I was in Single Thread Theatre’s The Loyalists, which was a site specific, collectively created work about the occupation of the Town of York during the War of 1812. Having lots of experience in both collective creation and site specific theatre from Ensemble, I was so pleased to have the chance to flex those muscles that I hadn’t flexed in some time. Even the audition for the show was a delicious challenge: we had to choose a prop, and write and perform a piece about that prop. Writing a solo piece like that was something I hadn’t done since Ensemble. I really credit my training at York for giving me the creative skills that this production was looking for.

Spolight on Alumni: Dan Daley

Dan Daley

Please tell us about what you're up to these days, and about some of the most exciting work that you've done since graduating.

Upon graduating I found myself doing what I never thought I would be doing: producing. Producing is a broad word in independent theatre to mean the person who does the administrative and logistical work behind a project. Many have mistaken my title to mean the person who puts up the money for the project… I wish that were true, but that’s the producer in film.

So I took on my first project as the production assistant under the direction of Gwen Dobie on her company’s Toronto premiere of Sound in Silence. It would seem there is a great need for Producers in Toronto. Since that first project outside of York, I have been brought onto project after project producing for the Paprika Festival, the SummerWorks Festival, the Fringe of Toronto, Theatre Columbus, Theatre Direct and several one-off productions. I have a couple peers who have followed a similar path and they’re never without work.

Given the time consuming nature of producing, it has been a struggle for me to find other creative outlets. Fortunately I have managed to enroll in theatre workshops, write some plays, direct here and there and teach younger artists about what I do.

Lately my work has taken me away from Toronto to work in Newfoundland on a Shakespeare Festival, Palestine and Israel on a 9 city tour of an Arabic language play and now in India where I currently reside working on a youth theatre festival in central Mumbai.

What was the most challenging aspect or experience of training/studying at York?

I found it difficult to balance my course load in theatre classes with my electives in non-theatre faculties. This isn’t a concern for everyone in the program depending on what area you stream into, but I had a B.A degree path which meant a larger number of academic classes. It was frustrating to feel that I needed to rush my work for these courses because I had to give so many odd hours to theatre. Often I would burn through papers and exams not fully understanding the material. I really had to be careful how much I took on in these other faculties given just how demanding theatre can be.

Cast and Crew of The Story 2011 at Evergreen Brickworks

Do you have any advice or tips for York students just entering the department?

It has been said before, but I will say it again: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. At some point we will all work together in some way. This work cannot be done in isolation. If you find yourself hiding from the crowd, take some time to re-evaluate what it is you want from the work and come back to it as a team player. Theatre school is roughly a microcosm of the larger theatre community that you will be entering. Take the time in school to find the people who will become reliable collaborators. If you cannot find them, don’t sweat it. Just keep yourself open to new projects and continue to offer your ideas. It's also wise to get involved with theatre companies now while you're in school so that when you leave, there are contacts waiting to hire you.

Do you have any advice or tips for York students just about to graduate? about to join the job market?

The job market of theatre has very few perimeters. You will have to donate your time for the first couple projects/shows/festivals until your seniors find they can’t do it without you. Then they will go out of their way to find money for you. In the meantime, make sure you get out to see lots of plays, meet people and when they ask, try to know roughly what you want to do. Maybe you have your own project to launch so start by finding people to help you. It’s possible to find a stable career in this field, but you will definitely come back to donating your time here and there because first and foremost it will always be a passion. Fortunately there are grants available to you and depending on your energy level, it is possible to fundraise your way into a successful career.

Spotlight on Alumni: Anthony Black

Anthony Black in The Invisible Atom

Anthony Black (BFA 2001) is a theatre artist who works as a writer, director, actor, designer, and as artistic co-director (with Christian Barry) of  internationally acclaimed 2b theatre company (Halifax, Canada). He did an undergraduate degree at York with classes in directing, playwriting, and creative ensemble, before studying directing at the National Theatre School. His various pursuits within theatre practice are complementary and mutually informative, leading to a holistic approach to theatre creation, production, and performance.

Anthony's plays and productions with 2b theatre have played at theatres and festivals and have received awards and rave reviews across Canada and around the globe.

What is your fondest memory of studying Theatre at York?

I made a bunch of friends in the theatre department and we did the things that university students typically do. We worked. We partied. But our parties were populated with passionate discussions about theatre and art. I'm so glad that these conversations weren't recorded. I, in particular, had a serious case of opinionitis forte that I'm sure I would cringe to listen to. But they were a wonderfully healthy way of testing out, in discussion at least, theories and ideas springing from what we were learning in class and observing in the theatre.

And I think we worked hard. I think for my first scene study assignment for my second year directing class, we rehearsed something like 25 hours for a 5 minute scene. That was invaluable time to take to explore, try, fail, and try again.

Do you have any advice or tips for York students just entering the dept.?

Make friends that you're interested in working with and work with them on class stuff, and on independently-initiated stuff. And then don't get comfortable and close the circle, but work with new people and see what they're about. Make your own experiences, and in doing so you'll put yourself in the way of good luck.

And exchange ideas with people outside theatre. Theatre is a language. It's no good speaking a language if you have nothing to talk about.

Lastly, a piece of advice I got from a teacher about what it takes to create work: “If you're not doing anything, you're not doing anything.”

If you had the chance to go back and visit your younger self as you were beginning at York, what advice would you give yourself?

I've been asked this question before and I don't think I would say anything. It's really important to make mistakes, even embarrassing ones, and learn from them. I was blessed with an upbringing that gave me a lot of confidence, and that confidence was important in terms seeing my ideas through to execution, forgiving myself my mistakes, and sometimes remaining in a state of denial about those mistakes until such time as I was able to recognize them.

Did connections, friendships, relationships you made at York help you afterward?

Conor Green and Francine Deschepper in When It Rains

Yes and no. Living in Nova Scotia, there isn't really a group of people I graduated with around me. I do have an ongoing collaborative relationship with actor/ writer Conor Green. Ironically, although we were in the same year and great friends at York, we never worked together until after graduation. I see some folks from my year from time to time, like Weyni Mengsha, who has had tremendous success as a director and has done some beautiful work since graduating. I get to work with a number of York Graduates and I have to say that there is some degree of comfort in sharing a vocabulary. It means we can work pretty efficiently and clearly.

The neat thing is actually to have built networks outside of the York community and then see how many ways these networks, including the York network, overlap and intersect. This is a very small country in terms of theatre practice.

Spotlight on Alumni: Alistair Hepburn

Please tell us about what you're up to these days, and about some of the most exciting work that you've done since graduating.

After spending the last 5 years as the Director of Production at Canadian Stage, I took a leap and went into business for myself. Currently I am a Freelance Production Manager about town working with companies like Acting Up Stage, Ross Petty Productions, Luminato, Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, Queen of Puddings, Art of Time Ensemble and April 30th Entertainment.

What was the most challenging aspect or experience of training/studying at York?

Convincing myself that it was okay to not be an actor. I had come to York to act. I had busted my butt to be in the 4th Year Production of Midsummer Night’s Dream in my 1st year (there may even be pictures of me, half naked, rolling around as a Faerie), and to convince myself to take a leap into another world was very challenging. I’m glad I did, and have never looked back (although if you ask my colleagues, they’ll tell you I do enjoy an audience).

What is your fondest memory of studying Theatre at York?

The people. Late nights in the design studios, the light lab and of course, The Absinthe.

Burton Auditorium

What was your favourite place at York?

Burton Auditorium. The levels, the catwalks, the oddly shaped thrust with an off centre vomitorium…so fantastic!

What did you do for the first summer out of the program?

The day after graduation I started at Canadian Stage working for the Dream in High Park. I was hired as a Sound Operator having never run sound in my life!

Do you have any advice or tips for York students just entering the dept.?

Make friends, get involved and listen. Every once and a while, just shut up and listen. There are lots of people there with tons of knowledge to share if you are willing to listen.

Do you have any advice or tips for York students just about to graduate?

Follow the leaders! There are lots of York alumni employed in this business. Find them! 

… and for those about to join the job market?

Really follow the leader. I’m always a big fan of working with York grads. The caliber of knowledge is second to none!

If you had the chance to go back and visit your younger self as you were beginning at York, what advice would you give yourself?”

Take more sound courses!!

Did connections, friendships, relationships you made at York help you afterward?”

Yes. Still do. Almost every day.

What did you learn at York that has been of greatest value?   

How to work with, for and manage people. I also cherish the fact that I learned that I don’t need to know everything, I just need to know who to call to find the answer.

What did you NOT get taught at York that you wish you had been taught?  

Accounting 101

Spotlight on Alumni: Weyni Mengesha

Weyni Mengesha

While at York, Weyni Mengesha (BFA 2005) did an independent study that she created with the help of the then Chair of the department, Peter McKinnon. The study was investigating the black Canadian theatre aesthetic which led her to do some work in Nova Scotia with some of the oldest black communities in the country, and assisting Djanet Sears on her play adventures of a black girl in search of God. She also started working on da kink in my hair with Trey Anthony, which was in the early stages of its development. Once she'd graduated, she wrote the music for da kink in my hair and directed it on tours in Toronto, New York, and London.

For the next couple of years she went on to direct other shows around the country including d’bi.young.anitafrika’s “Blood.claat” which played Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. After a few more shows she had the craving to go back to studying so she applied for the director’s position in the soulpepper academy. Upon finishing the two year program she was asked to direct their production of A Raisin In the Sun. This was a success and was remounted a year later. She went on to direct shows for Luminato, Nightwood, and The Stratford Festival.

Mengesha is also very passionate about working with young people. She serves as the artistic director of two youth arts initiatives: Sound The Horn, which she co-founded in 2004, and The AMY Project (Artists Mentoring Youths) which she co-directs with Claire Calnan. She is also one of the organizers of the Wrecking Ball, “evenings of political theatre designed to provoke thought and discussion within the theatrical community”.

This past year Weyni was the company dramaturge for Volcano’s Another Africa at Canadian Stage, directed  Kim’s Convenience by Ins Choi (BFA '98) at Soulpepper Theatre and The Small Room at The Top of the Stairs at Tarragon Theatre (both which won several Toronto Critics awards including best director for Mengesha.) She just finished teaching a scene study coarse at the National Theatre School in October and is taking a break to have a baby due in December.

What was the most valuable thing you learned while studying at York?

Our second year directing course with Ron Singer is still a major part of my tool kit. He really made us diligent about asking the right questions of our actors and meticulously sifting through our scripts. It sometimes felt like too much detail but upon repeating the exercises and seeing the results you really understand the importance of that kind of investigation. It has made me remain disciplined to this day with my prep work. 

In which ways has your education at York, and in the Theatre in particular, helped you work in life?

The cast of da kink in my hair

The work I did with Mark Wilson around collective creation was very valuable because it grew courage in me to think of myself as a storyteller not just a director. So when we needed music for da kink in my hair I started writing it, when we needed to develop a script for blood.claat I started doing dramaturgical work. In fact coming out of York the only work I did was new play development with people I collaborated with. I did not direct a “published play” until 6 or 7 years out of school. So getting my career started meant having the courage to take risks and collectively collaborate on new projects.

Do you have any advice or tips for students just entering the department?

Take advantage of all the resources available to you: I put up my own show the summer after my first year and all my designers and production collaborators where my fellow students I met that year. I often would go and talk to faculty about different ideas I had which is how my third year independent study came about. I would have chats with Peter McKinnon about things I wanted to explore that I did not feel I was getting at York, and he was a great collaborator. Take advantage of the risks you can take: once out of school it gets more challenging to find so many potential collaborators who can afford the time to experiment with you on creative ideas.

Spotlight on Alumni: Michelle Jamieson

Patrolmen masks from The Odyssey, designed by Katherine Lubienski at Stratford. 

My name is Michelle Jamieson and I was in the Theatre Production Program as well as Creative Ensemble ( back when that was still a program…); I graduated in 2005.

When I first graduated from York, I designed for several years and I also worked at the Blyth Festival as propmaker. I discovered that I loved making props and I have now been working at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival as a Propmaker for the past 7 seasons.  It is a very exciting place to work and propmaking is such a bizarre job. One day I am making a fake hand, the next a suit of armour. It's the kind of job where you are often asked to make things that are totally wacko and weird and you just have to roll with it. Then other times you have to do a LOT of one thing. I spent six weeks of a season beading a massive curtain for Cabaret. Oy.

The most exciting project for me right now is that I am about to embark on an adventure to teach propmaking and maskmaking in Suchitoto, El Salvador. When I was at York I had studied a lot about Theatre for Social Change and now I actually get to do it in a real visceral way.  The idea behind the project is that Stratford, much like Suchitoto, came upon some difficult financial times in the 1950's and they used the arts to stabilize their economy by creating a theatre that brought tourist dollars to the area as well as work for a lot of unemployed citizens.  This project in Suchitoto is giving students the chance to have skills and abilities that will allow them to find work, instead of turning to a lot of the gang violence and drug trafficking that are so prevelant among the youth in El Salvador.  The hope is that they too, will create theatre that will bring tourist dollars to the area and employ their newly trained theatre technicians.  If you would like to learn more about the project to either donate or potentially volunteer please check out this site.

What was the most valuable thing you learned while studying in Theatre at York?

I remember an “aha” moment when working with Teresa Przybylski in my fourth year set design class. I was floundering on a design for a set and had done several sketches and was about to move forward with an idea and Teresa looked at it and said ” I think you could do  more research”. She was very right, I went back and did more research and came up with a much more cohesive idea.  I find that I often think of that conversation when I get a little too ahead of myself on a project. I then force myself to push for a better idea and I always go back to the research.  

Big Love—Theatre @ York 2003, set design by Michelle Jamieson

What was the most challenging aspect or experience of training/studying at York?

I found the most challenging part was balancing myself.  I tended to take advantage of every opportunity while I was there, which left very little time for anything. I kind of had an attitude of getting as much as I could out of my experience so that meant a lot extra-curricular activities and some very time consuming classes. It was challenging but I wouldn't have done it any other way.

What is your fondest memory of studying Theatre at York?

To be honest, I had an amazing time at York so it would be impossible for me to narrow down my experience like that. I was very fortunate to have a lot of wonderful classmates to share my space and time with. Some of my best memories are staying up late trying to finish shows, covered in paint, listening to fantastic music, working together with amazing people.

What was your favourite place at York, and why?

I loved the design studios.  They were a sanctuary of support and just a lovely place to relax.

What was one thing you enjoyed about York that was outside of the Theatre?

By living at Winters residence, I was introduced to so many other talented artists of all sorts of genres and how I could bounce my own creative juices off of them. I was also fortunate enough to be a part of Wibi'jazzn' , one of York's acapella ensembles, where I was able to form some really deep bonds through  music.

What did you do for the first summer out of the program?

I was the resident designer for Smile Theatre. It is a theatre that brings small two person shows to senior's residences.  It was a challenge and I stumbled a lot.  A lot of the actors that I was costuming were people who had been in the business for a very long time and as a new designer with a lot of confidence but not a lot of experience to back it up there were a lot of lessons in humility that I learned!

A suit of armour from King Lear at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival designed by Ann Curtis.

Do you have any advice or tips for York students just entering the dept.?

I would say to not let your expectations limit you.  I went into the Theatre Department knowing that I wanted to be a set designer. After the first year, I discovered that I loved performing, I really liked making costumes and that there was so much more to theatre than I had anticipated.  I think it's best to expose yourself to all aspects of theatre, because sometimes you will surprise yourself with where you end up.  I never thought when I went into school that I would be a propmaker.  I discovered it along the way.

Do you have any advice or tips for York students just about to graduate? about to join the job market?

Use your network of friends.   In the first two years after graduating, I worked a lot with fellow students.  I would design something and I would hire them to paint it, they would design something and they would hire me to create costumes.  We helped each other, and it worked out really well.

If you had the chance to go back and visit your younger self as you were beginning at York, what advice would you give yourself?

Don't be afraid to ask for help.  York is full of a lot of wonderful programs to help you with a lot of problems whether it be social or academic. I discovered these programs later in my academic career and know that I could have really used the help in my first year. 

Did connections, friendships, relationships you made at York help you afterward?

Absolutely, without a doubt.

What surprised you about York/Theatre Department during your first month?

I was amazed at how open everybody was.  My first year acting class was a bit of an eye opener for me, It was a really great group of people.  I guess when you don't know anybody going into a program it can be very intimidating, but I really felt part of something within the first week or two of that class.

What did you learn at York that has been of greatest value? 

Talent and your resume will get you a job, your attitude and behaviour will help keep it and allow your career to grow.