Two recent Ball State alumni are currently moving around the country to find work in acting.
Monica Ramirez, a Class of 2016 BFA musical theater major, traveled to Chicago and New York to showcase herself by performing a scene and a song.
All BFAs have the opportunity to audition in showcases in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, which are facilitated through Ball State.
A casting representative from "Hamilton" showed interest in her, and she is currently waiting to hear back from them. She also auditioned for "Waitress," which recently opened and has music written by Sara Bareilles.
“We left the city after these auditions and it’s kind of weird cause it’s like a tease,” Ramirez said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with that right now, but it was a cool experience and I’m really grateful.”
Ramirez was involved in the Ethnic Theater Alliance, Reflex Improv Comedy and five shows during her time at Ball State. She is about to sign with a commercial agent to potentially do voice-over work and plans to do another showcase to "get her face out there."
Ramirez used to be shy when it came to performing, but she heard her brother sing for the first time in a play in fifth grade, and after that she thought, “I can do that. I want to try that,” and eventually found her own voice.
"I found that I’m actually very passionate about this, I have a drive and I’m very interested. … [My brother]’s actually an actor in New York right now, and I’m about to move in with him at the end of the month,” she said. “A lot of people say that you put on a mask when you go onstage, like you cover up a part of you and you become another person. … I feel like I’m putting a mask on, but it’s a mask of who I am, another version of myself in every single character."
Kate Yost, a fellow BFA musical theater major and Class of 2016 graduate, auditioned in Los Angeles. She got to work with Rachel Hoffman, a casting director at Telsey and Company. Telsey and Company casts musicals such as "Hamilton," "Wicked" and "The Color Purple."
After the showcase, Yost was called in for an audition to be an Ensemble/Elphaba understudy for the Equity National Tour of "Wicked." She prepared two songs and a scene from the musical.
“I was extremely grateful to be called in directly, especially because so many people wait in line for hours at an open call,” Yost said. “My audition experience was so much fun. A lot of people approached me assuming it would be terrifying auditioning for such a big show associated with such a big casting agency. However, the casting director, along with the assistants in the room, were so welcoming. Elphaba has been my dream role since I first saw the show, so I took this more as an opportunity to perform the songs I had been practicing in my car for years.”
She performed in three shows during her time at Ball State.
“While I value escapist theater, I find theater that forces an audience to think or question more exciting,” she said. “My dream is to provide different perspectives for an audience and hopefully encourage empathy among one another.”
Through her classes at Ball State, Yost learned the art of auditioning as well as movement, acting, vocal and dance classes.
“Ball State taught me first and foremost how to be a person. You have to be comfortable with yourself if you're ever going to be able to audition. Auditioning requires a vulnerability that not many people are willing to allow; however, Ball State's Department of Theatre and Dance cherishes this openness, and it truly prepares you for your auditions,” Yost said.
Currently, Yost is working at New Stage Theatre as the leader in “The Robber Bridegroom” in her hometown of Madison, Mississippi.
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