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Will Savarese '22 packs a lot into his resume - film, a Carnegie Hall appearance and now an impressive music theatre national tour gig. He's come a long way from the little boy who made his acting debut as Frosty the Snowman in his preschool play.
Likewise,
BW's
Bachelor
of
Fine
Arts
in
acting
program
has
come
a
long
way
since
its
2016
inception.
Then
as
now,
it
boasts
of
award-winning,
professionally
active
faculty
with
extensive
experience
and
a
strong
collaboration
with
the
university's
nationally
acclaimed
music
theatre
program.
A spotlight moment came in 2018-19 when it was named one of the nation's best BFA acting programs by OnStage Blog. Since then, its momentum and success stories have continued to soar. Just ask Savarese, who is juggling his final semester at BW with performing as Link Larkin in the national tour of "Hairspray."
If every actor has a story, then Savarese would say that his is sprinkled with high school performances in films shot by his friends and a leading role in an independent feature film called "Prom Date." His Carnegie Hall appearance, albeit not a Broadway star moment, sparkled, nonetheless. The jovial teen was also part of a big musical theatre cabaret, directed by TV actress Brooke Procida, that put him and other youth center stage for a one-show performance.
Those warm-up acts would eventually lead to something bigger once he came to BW. His professional theatre debut with "Hairspray" is a pinnacle moment for the BFA major from New Rochelle, New York, which is just outside the Bronx.
"I owe a lot of the success I find in acting to the lessons I learned early on in martial arts. I did it for 12 years before coming to BW. Growing up learning those lessons of mental discipline and making anything happen with hard work really helped me in pursuing acting as a career," he explained.
"The last place I expected to find similarities to my acting training was in my martial arts class. A lot of what we learn in martial arts training is about being in the moment, getting out of our heads and connecting our minds to our bodies, getting in touch with our breath, being able to react quickly to other people and being in touch with the people around us," he noted.
"Before
'Hairspray,'
I
was
the
farthest
thing
from
a
dancer,"
Savarese
admitted.
"The
creative
team
told
me
that
one
reason
why
I
was
cast
was
because
they
believed
I
would
work
hard
to
make
up
for
my
lack
of
dance
ability.
Now,
more
than
four
months
into
the
process,
I
can
confidently
say
that
I
feel
like
a
dancer.
I
don't
know
if
I'd
have
that
kind
of
mindset
without
the
lessons
I
learned
growing
up
in
martial
arts."
As Savarese prepares to graduate and move back to New York City, he'll be taking more than his diploma with him. The professors, his peers and experiences he's had while being a YJ4L are now part of his story.
"The BFA program is really phenomenal. It offers a wide range of acting training that enables students to find what works for them individually. There are MANY opportunities to audition and be in shows," he noted.
"The cross-training is amazing. I love that at BW we receive dance and singing training, and we can carve our own path in that way. I personally was a music minor, but I know many people in my BFA class were dance minors. Never in a million years did I think my professional debut would be a dancing role in a musical theatre show. I think the training I received from our awesome dance and voice faculty played a huge part in making that happen," he emphasized.
