thefederalistfreestyle: Hamilton’s Anthony Ramos Admits He…
Hamilton’s Anthony Ramos Admits He Never Planned to Be on Broadway (Teen Vogue):
Just as the burgeoning actor’s lark into the world of theater began, his baseball career was reaching new heights as well and he soon set his sights on playing college ball for a NCAA Division III school. However, that dream was abruptly pulled out from underneath him. “My family was going through some things at the time and I was doing the application process by myself. I didn’t get my financial aid papers by deadline and all of my applications were withdrawn,” he explains of the blow.
With his only way out of the projects squashed, Anthony had nowhere else to turn and decided to join the Navy. However, it was a teacher at New Utrecht who refocused his trajectory. “I’m convinced she was an angel sent from above to show me the path I was supposed to take in my life.” That teacher, New Utrecht theater director Sara Steinweiss, saw a spark in the student and recommended he apply for the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, otherwise known as AMDA, a theater school located across the East River in Manhattan. “I was like, what? No way. I’ll never get in. I’m not auditioning.”
He soon relented and the recruiters from AMDA saw the same talent in his audition that Steinweiss did, later offering him admission. However, there was one snag. “They threw me the numbers at me on how much it’d all cost and I thought I had no way to pay for this. The next thing you know, (Steinweiss) put my name in for a scholarship funded by Jerry Seinfeld. She told them my story and how I grew up, so they wanted to meet me.” Ramos poured his heart out during a meeting with a representative from the skeptical foundation. “They said, ‘We don’t usually give this scholarship to people with your grades.’ I was like, ‘My grades are not a reflection of me. I just need somebody to give me me a shot and believe in me. I won’t let you down.’ By the time I left, we were both crying.” He didn’t hear back until right when AMDA’s payment deadline was approaching: he was given a full scholarship, with housing
“I’m convinced she was an angel sent from above to show me the path I was supposed to take in my life.”
Teachers: low status, low pay, hope-crushing failure as a daily reality.
Also: the occasional chance to change someone’s life.
Reposted from http://ift.tt/21xJZOE.
Tags: hamilton, teachers, i was only one for a little bit, but i still miss it.
