Three UArts Students Attend Mentor Match-Up

Last Wednesday evening, Feb. 19, a diverse pool of alumni volunteers joined current students in Solmssen Court for the fifth Mentor Match-Up event to share career advice and chat about the paths they’ve taken in their professions.

Co-sponsored by Campus Life and Alumni Relations, this annual event provides an opportunity for students to network and meet a mentor, hear about their post-grad experiences and discuss tips for making the most out of their time at UArts as they begin their careers as artists. 

We caught up with three upperclassmen who attended the event.

Senior Theater major and first-time attendee Rudy Schreiber ’20 (Directing, Playwriting and Production) said he found out about Mentor Match-Up from Campus Life’s Instagram 20 minutes before the event and made a “mad dash” there! “I had a great conversation with Director Dan O’Neil [BFA ’10 (Musical Theater)] who I have run into several times but never had an opportunity to chat with,” he said. “I took away the confidence that mid-level directing jobs exist. I had told him that I only encountered assistant directorships for fresh-out-of-college directors or job positions for directors who have ‘made it,’ but never experienced the in-between.”

Another Theater major, Dana Grossman ’20 (Musical Theater), also spoke with O’Neil, who, she said, “had great intel on what casting directors look for [in that it truly depends on the situation and you can’t read fully into it]. Different people are looking for different things.” He also advised Grossman “to be a person when you walk into an audition room instead of a cookie-cutter performer. Be open to understudy positions to get your foot in the door and gain potential EMC [Equity Membership Candidate] points.”

Grossman found out about Mentor Match-Up from the senior events announcement and Digication posts. She believes mentorship is very valuable among artists, because mentors can not only help with your profession but also help with housing opportunities! She hopes that UArts will continue to grow its networking and mentorship initiatives, especially outside Philadelphia.

You need to be patient enough to trust the process, your mentor and yourself.
—Shaurice McCaster ’21 (Dance)

Dance major Shaurice McCaster ’21 attended the event last year as a sophomore and found out about this year’s event through her job in the Office of Campus Life. Shaurice had the opportunity to chat briefly with everyone, but said her strongest encounters were with Thomas Miles BFA ’75 (Sculpture), Tonya Mayo BFA ’19 (Vocal Performance) and Michelle Wurtz BFA ’90 (Dance).

Miles serves on UArts’ Board of Trustees and works with the Corzo Center. Mayo will be completing her masters in Music Education at UArts this year and is a grad assistant for RAs working in Juniper and Spruce halls. She also has her own business—Kids ACT (Kids Are Creative Thinkers). Wurtz is now a pilates instructor and an adjunct professor for the Dance Department at Eastern University. 

We asked McCaster what she took away from her conversations with these mentors. “I need to validate myself more and know I am on the right track,” she said. “Since I am studying business, dance and writing at UArts, I take gems I gain from one class and apply it to another. I do this so I am well-rounded and all-knowing (to the best of my abilities).”

She believes the value of mentorship in the arts is “guidance and patience. You need to be patient enough to trust the process, your mentor and yourself. Success and hard work doesn't happen overnight. It all takes time. There is value in guidance because the mentor has been in the shoes of the mentee and can definitely steer you in the right direction.”

After graduation, McCaster plans to dance with a professional company while using the skills she learns from her Business minor to supplement her career. She is currently a peer mentor on campus and would love to come back to mentor students and share her knowledge as an alum.

Alumni and students interested in being a mentor or mentee are encouraged to join the UArts Alumni Network, an online networking platform and creative community for UArts. Students interested in becoming a peer mentor can contact the Office of Campus Life at campuslife@uarts.edu.