With a passion for the spotlight and a dedication to his craft, Michael Myers has made a name for himself in Verrado High School’s theatre program. As a senior, Myers is preparing to take his talent to the next level, with dreams of stepping onto the prestigious stage at Juilliard. For this aspiring actor, every rehearsal, every line, and every role brings him closer to his ultimate goal: a life in the theater.
“I’m preparing for it by watching many plays and reading Shakespeare. I have bought some acting technique books and am enveloping myself in the acting world” Micheal explained.
The life of a performer is never stress-free, especially when combined with the daily life of a high school senior. Despite this, there are many ways to juggle all of this plus a social life, and it seems Myers has cracked the code.
“I like to live by the idea that there is a silver lining and not everything is permanent. So, that’s pretty much what I think whenever something negative happens” Myers said. “I’ll always remind myself that it won’t last forever, whether it’s good or bad news.”
Myers, while waiting for his audition, can feel the slow-building anxiety of doing something so life-altering.
“I expect to be incredibly nervous, but I’ve done some research. I’ve watched many videos based on firsthand accounts and heard that they are super nice and inclusive during the audition process.”
His inspiration to attend Juilliard first came to mind when discussing his future career with his counselor, Hillary Palmgren.
“She mentioned Juilliard, and that interested me because I had never thought about an actual drama school. I always thought about just going to a regular college that had an acting program, but doing research, I found that Juilliard has a lot of the specific programs that I’d want. I’d like to excuse all the random math and history classes and just do acting classes” he explained.
When it comes to the arts, every performer has their set style and way of working. Myers believes that his artistic style is a combination of perspective and preparation.
He states, “I would say that I’d like to envelop my character, not to say I like method acts, but I like to learn as much as I can about my character and fully understand why he’s making choices, why he’s saying words, why he’s doing everything he’s doing. To drive the performance forward.”
This dedication and drive haven’t gone unnoticed, seeing as Myers has won an Emmy award due to his acting in a student film production named “Project 182”.
As Myers envelops himself in the hope of becoming a student at Juilliard and further developing his craft, he always chooses to remember enjoying the moments he has in theater as well as leaving an impact on the future generation of students who are thinking of pursuing theater and the arts.
