Leaving the Nest

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posted by Britannie Bond, A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2009

Last week we bid farewell to the M.F.A. Program class of 2009. They’ve officially graduated and are now headed out into the world to pursue the life of the professional actor. Before they left us, these young artists, like every class before them, traveled to New York and Los Angeles to perform a showcase for casting directors and agents. Below are images, and a note, from their trip.

Dearest San Francisco,

I am sitting in the middle of Times Square fashioning you a love letter in the shape of a big apple. I am here on my showcase tour and have oh so many things to thank you for. Eh-hmm...

Do you remember that time I walked 12 blocks in NYC and it didn't faze me because those city blocks were flat?! Or the time I thought the NYC subway was a piece of cake compared to the BART? Or even the time that I felt so supported by A.C.T. friends and alumni during the showcase performances that it didn't feel like some scary intimidating audition in front of agents and casting directors, but in front of people who genuinely, wholeheartedly believed in me and my 16 other classmates? Or how three years ago when I visited NYC, how I had such a distaste for it, and how now I feel so much more prepared for the city (and perhaps the world)? San Francisco, much like graduate school at A.C.T, you have prepared me well for the trials of city living. With your colorful characters and picturesque hills, you have provided me with endless inspiration, you have supported a theater for over 40 years, and you have given birth to a plethora of young talents bursting from their seams. If and when I make the big move East, I will have left much of my heart with you, to which I will surely come back many times (see also: Tony Bennett).

Thanks,
Britannie Bond
A.C.T. M.F.A. 2009

Snapshots from New York:



From Los Angeles:

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