#101 - Scott Barnhardt: The Worth of a College Degree

“If I were king of the mountain and I got to say how all arts
education was – I would actually say the idea of being curiously
creative is key; testing out all the ideas and options.” – Scott
Barnhardt This is a wildly fun and informative podcast for artists
of all ages – especially those looking into studying theatre in
college. Here’s what you’ll find in this episode: The college
audition mindset The falsehoods of being a “starving artist” What
is true about being a “starving artist”? Lucrative ways of working
in the theatre Leaning into the type of artist you want to be known
as The worth of a college degree SCOTT BARNHARDT is a musical
theatre actor, theatre maker, writer, educator and Independent
Education Consultant (IEC). He is also the owner and creator of The
Creative College Journey, a bespoke approach to college guidance
working exclusively with creative applicants (writers, filmmakers,
actors, dancers)—helping families handle both the academic and
artistic aspects of a college application with the goal to lower
stress and increase clarity and enjoyment throughout the
process. As a teacher and administrator, he most recently
served as Lead Faculty for the Contemporary Musical Theatre + Film
BFA program at Hussian College Los Angeles, and before that as the
Director of Musical Theatre at the Orange County School of the Arts
(OCSA). He is a graduate of Wagner College (BA, Theatre/Speech) and
UCLA (MFA, Playwriting). His acting credits include the original
Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon (Elder Harris/Elder Thomas, u/s
Elder McKinley, Asst. Dance Captain) and the Deaf West Broadway
Revival of Big River at Roundabout. Other NYC: Yank! (The Old Globe
Workshop), Bye Bye Birdie (City Center Encores!). National tours:
The Boy Friend directed by Julie Andrews, Deaf West's Big River,
the Detroit company of White Christmas and the Japanese tour of
Disney on Classic with the Tokyo Philharmonic. At OCSA, along with
teaching audition prep and a class called Mind|Body|Voice, he
directed the virtual production of Now. Here. This. (the first
full-length musical to be shot and presented entirely during
quarantine), Evita (in association with Musical Theatre West), the
High School premiere of Jasper in Deadland, The Drowsy Chaperone,
Xanadu, 9-to-5 (alongside Jessica Lea Patty). He was also seen in
concert with students at the Irvine Barclay Theatre in Coming Home
with Krysta Rodriguez and Scott Barnhardt. Scott has taught
workshops, master classes and built programming for UCLA, The
Grammy Foundation, Professional School for the Arts, American
Ballet Theatre, University of Michigan, Segerstrom Center for the
Arts, MTCA of OC, Cal State Fullerton, Broadway Dreams, Broadway
Classroom, International Thespian Festival, EdTA Professional
Development, Florida Thespian Festival and The Performing Arts
Project among others. Awards and grants include the 2004 Tony
Honor (Big River), Grammy Citation for Best Cast Album (The Book of
Mormon), Tim Robbins Playwriting Award, Sono Osato Scholarship,
Caroline H. Newhouse Scholarship and the George Burns & Gracie
Allen Fellowship in Comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
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