At this year’s Industry Insiders panel, an annual staple of the USC School of Dramatic Arts’ Trojan Family Weekend programming, one thing quickly became clear: though each of the alumni panelists had started in the same place, their career paths were as varied as the artists themselves.
“We can’t give you the magic formula. This is an extraordinarily custom career,” said actress Deborah Ann Woll (BFA Acting ’07; True Blood, Daredevil, Escape Room). “Every single person who embarks on an artistic career is going to have their own path.”
“For me, what USC did was the most important thing,” she continued. “The way that you’re going to find these opportunities is to be confident in what you have to offer. ‘I have something to say, and I am good at saying it.’”
In addition to Woll, this year’s panel featured Assistant Professor Tony Shayne (BFA Design ’06), actor Karan Soni (BA Theatre ’11; Safety Not Guaranteed, Deadpool, A Nice Indian Boy), writer and director Scotty Felix (BA Theatre ’16; Panorama), and actress Briana Henry (BFA Acting ’14; The Last Repair Shop, General Hospital). It was moderated by Director of Comedy and Associate Professor Zachary Steel and consisted of both questions posed by Steel and an interactive Q&A with the audience. Although each of the alumni had taken their own paths after graduating from USC, several themes recurred through each of their stories. The need for discipline and resilience after leaving college, developing a rich and rewarding life outside of the profession, and the unforeseeable importance of the friends and colleagues made at USC were all important messages that were brought up again and again.
“The Trojan Family is definitely real. The people that you go to school and class with—you don’t know how long these people are going to be in your life for,” said Felix. “In this business, with how crazy and lonely it can be, it’s very helpful to have people that have been in that same room with you, who have struggled with you—and most importantly, when you’re able to celebrate a victory, you can do it with a community and not just by yourself.”
Felix mentioned that his “saving grace” was that he had no backup plan, and that the discipline he learned at USC was what helped him continually grow, stay on track and finally succeed as his career transitioned from theatre to film.
Alumna Briana Henry agreed. “I would say a general sense of discipline is a really big thing that I got from USC,” said Henry. “When you leave this space, you don’t have teachers requiring you to learn monologues or learn new dialects. I think that that was the thing that helped me have a professional career from my senior year at USC to now.”
Soni also emphasized that the self-discipline learned while at USC extended beyond the craft and to issues like mental and physical wellness.
“Being a professional actor is a little like that,” Soni said. “No one’s going to tell you what to eat, how much to sleep. The hours are so brutal, and no one cares if you didn’t sleep enough. That’s a lot of self-discipline and that continues later on.”
Resilient, multi-faceted people
Each of the panelists highlighted the importance of finding sources of support—both financially and emotionally—and developing a rich life outside of the industry, even while passionately pursuing their dreams.
“Find professions outside of acting that can help fuel acting, that can give you a flexibility to audition and to continue on following this dream—because you’re the only one who can make it happen for you,” said Henry.
Woll highlighted the need to be resilient and continue looking toward the future, even during difficult times.
“It’s that perseverance,” Woll said. “It’s saying, ‘This is a tough time right now, but I’m going to find other things that light me up financially and creatively.’”
While everyone agreed that there was no set path to follow in an artistic career, each panelist said that the discipline, confidence and skills they learned at SDA, along with the friends, community and connections they made at the School, have helped sustain them through their careers and get them to where they are today. “Theatre people are the most resilient, multifaceted people,” said Professor Shayne. “If you look at this panel, none of us are defined by the degree that we got here. We used that as a basis to do what we did after. We grew into the passions and the projects that interested us. This is all taught here, and it flourishes because of this kind of education.”