This year, Actors Showcase will highlight the talents of 19 senior theater students

This post was updated on May 29 at 8:28 p.m.

As the credits roll on their undergraduate careers, the graduating class of actors from UCLA showcases their talents.

The annual Actors Showcase will take the stage of the UCLA Nimoy Theater on May 30, celebrating 19 theater students as they embark on their collective journey into the professional world. Presenting a selection of two-person scenes to an audience of industry professionals, fourth-year theater student and showcase co-producer Juliana Carrasco said the student-run event allows seniors to build a network stable in anticipation of the start of their careers. As a highlight of their time in the Department of Theater, Film and Television, Carrasco said graduates are encouraged to explore their artistic voices, highlighting the elements that best represent them as actors.

I think (the industry) is very subjective…especially in arts and entertainment,” Carrasco said. Our goal within this network is to present and represent ourselves to the best of our ability…this is just an olive branch towards networking and forming a community here in Los Angeles.

As the entertainment industry continually evolves, the Actors Showcase has adapted to include a virtual format, Carrasco said, maximizing students' exposure to industry professionals. Developing a formal presentation website, the production team coordinated a professional video shoot to allow the actors to create their demos and expand their online presence, Carrasco added. With the increasing prevalence of self-taping and virtual auditions, Carrasco said promoting the accessibility of actors' work on a larger scale is crucial to building the relationships necessary for their future careers.

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Since networking is inherent to the entertainment industry, the main goal of the Actors Showcase is to connect graduating seniors with professionals ranging from casting agents to network executives, said fourth-year student Kelsie Hj. year in theater and co-producer. Consisting of two screenings, the hour-long presentations will be followed by a networking event, allowing actors to directly build a relationship with their professional audience, Carrasco added. Facilitated by the UCLA Theater Department, the outreach committee used the department's connections to ensure the seniors would meet a high-profile audience that could jump-start their careers, Hj said.

There’s not really a single path to becoming an actor, and I’m sure that’s very clear,” Hj said. (There are) ways in which an actor can have power over their own career…so we can showcase our best work and show what we've learned.

While actors are typically chosen to fit the needs of a scene, Hj said the showcase reverses that process, encouraging actors to select scenes that best suit their distinctive abilities. The lengthy scene selection process began during the winter quarter, Hj said, because it was essential for the artists to identify which scenes and scene partners would both reflect their artistic identity and highlight their dramatic and comedic range during their limited time on stage.

(The showcase) is less about the stage and more about us as performers, because at the end of the day… in the showcase, we market ourselves as performers, Hj said. My approach to this has been very different from the plays I've done in TFT simply because, selfishly, it's more about me.

Although the production was primarily facilitated by the students, fourth-year theater student Olivia Braun said the seniors received support from the theater department and external directors in their rehearsal process, allowing the actors to receive constructive feedback on their performance. Braun said his creative process begins with his own examination of the script, identifying his unique relationship with the character and with his scene partner. During rehearsals, TFT teachers serve a mentoring role, Braun added, encouraging seniors to delve deeper into the complexity of their characters through guiding questions.

“Preparing for everything, I learned a lot about the industry and what it means to be a working actor,” Braun said. Our class has worked really hard to demystify a lot of the industry…but the more information we get, the more control and agency we feel like we have over our careers, and that really empowers us power.

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Collaboration was a key element in preparing the presentation, Carrasco said, as artists find help and encouragement from their teachers and peers. While the senior class shares the same hopes and challenges in leaving UCLA, Braun said they have provided immeasurable support through every step of the presentation process, from identifying scenes that would showcase talents of their peers to providing productive feedback during the rehearsal process. As the curtain closes on their senior year, Carrasco said the showcase embodies the emergence of a new generation of artists, reflecting on the unique circumstances and challenges his class faced.

“We are a group of artists on a mission to change the industry and best represent those who look like us,” Carrasco said. I think that's the beautiful thing about our classes, we're going to show up (to) show exactly who we are and why we want to pursue what we want to do.