Our Stories
Twenty-Nine
I was 17 when I first attended Circle. I had high hopes for the summer program since it had been recommended by a friend. I had two experiences during those seven weeks that will stay with me forever.
Twenty-Eight
There’s a lot to unpack regarding my experience at Circle in the Square Theatre School, most of which was beyond good, it was extraordinary. Most of the “tough love” teaching the faculty showed, by bluntly expressing themselves and their opinions, was something I was well-versed in, prior to my inception at the school. And, it was something I could handle.
Twenty-Seven
My time at Circle was for the most part very pleasant and I’ve learned so much. However, being a plus size woman in the performance industry has many challenges such as being typecast as the butch best friend, side character, or the comic relief who won’t find love. This has reflected in statements from multiple faculty members.
Twenty-Six
It costs me to share what happened in my time at Circle in the Square — both in the summer program and then the two-year program. I share it to make sure this side of the systemic power abuse is heard, acknowledged, and addressed and specifically that Ken Schatz is permanently removed from faculty and not allowed to set foot in the school again.
Twenty-Five
During my second year at Circle, I was dealing with considerable mental health issues. There were times I had to leave early because of panic attacks triggered by overstimulation or over-exhaustion. Regardless, I always pushed myself to do more and more work, despite my declining mental and physical health.
Twenty-Four
My move to NYC in August of 2006 had been planned for well over a year when I decided to audition for Circle in the Square. One of my professors in Hartford was a Circle Alum and suggested I look into it. I started to research and the more I learned the more I knew that Circle was for me. It was where several of my favorite actors attended and it was the alma mater of a professor I respected very much.
Twenty-Three
I was physically and sexually assaulted on campus at the end of my first year at Circle in the Square Theatre School. A late night rehearsal on campus was being held for our first year Cabaret. Students were working one on one with Beth Falcone while other students were practicing in other rooms throughout the basement/foyer. It was after dark and the box office entrance was locked up - leaving the elevator as the only exit.
Twenty-Two
While I am thankful for my training at Circle in the Square Theatre School, and the many amazing people I met who continue to love and support me to this day, I agree completely with the creators of this website that there are serious issues with the culture of the institution that need to be addressed. I stand with my fellow alumni who created this website, and affirm their demands. We want moral integrity in our industry.
Twenty-One
At every level, Circle is plagued with problems. Instructors endorse physical and mental abuse for the sake of "truth telling." Women especially were repeatedly forced to detail or act out intimate sexual experiences in front of the teachers and entire class and repeatedly coerced into doing so even if she said "no" again and again. Circle lives in the 1950's, idolizing abusive white male actors and encouraging these white males in the institution to abuse others around them because other "great" actors did so.
Twenty
Calling my time at Circle “disappointing” would be an understatement. I thought that training in the basement of a Broadway theater was going to be the time of my life. However, I failed to realize that attending was a mistake for many reasons. Being a person with a learning difference, I found the environment and my interactions with some faculty members to be extremely toxic.
Nineteen
I am Latino, born and raised in Chile. So are my parents and their parents. I speak with an accent which I’m working on, but my skin is light. I pass for white until I open my mouth. I don’t actually know if I’m white or a person of color. Or both. Or none. I’ve done my best to educate myself about race dynamics in this country, but they still confuse me.
Eighteen
I’m a proud Latina, but my lighter skin color and upbringing in white suburbia has allowed me to not personally experience outright instances of racism at Circle. However, I sure witnessed quite a few- along with many micro-aggressions that made me uncomfortable to my core. These little things can add up quickly, and in a learning environment they can sink into your subconscious in an extremely harmful way…
Seventeen
I’m that one person who dropped out two years in a row within the first month. I wish I could put into words the amount of shame and self-loathing that particular narrative brought me until I was able to work it the hell out in therapy. The feeling when you get a second chance and then screw it up for yourself once again. I mean, I made the big move to the big city…
Sixteen
My time at Circle in the Square was brief. However, one thing that I definitely noticed during my time there was the lack of inclusivity. The majority of the students in both the musical theater and the regular acting programs were predominantly white. It seemed like they only accepted some black actors and other actors of color to add to the diversity quota, especially because most of the work that we were able to do in our scene study class was predominantly work from white playwrights…
Fifteen
In conversation with the comedian Dave Chappelle, Dr. Maya Angelou spoke to him on how to handle anger- “You must not be bitter… Let me show you why—bitterness is like cancer; it eats upon the host. It doesn’t do anything to the object of its displeasure.” So, in following the words of the great Maya Angelou, I have decided to not be bitter and focus on the facts about my time at Circle in the Square Theatre School…
Fourteen
I began my acting training at Circle in the Square Theatre School in the fall of 2015. I auditioned with the character Paul San Marco’s monologue from A Chorus Line. The monologue was about growing up gay and becoming a drag queen in a time when it was considered very taboo. This particular monologue meant a lot to me as it pertained to my own life experiences and I could relate to the character on a personal level. I had auditioned for quite a few acting schools in my original home state of North Carolina and felt as though I couldn’t be my true self in any of the schools I had auditioned for. I had a desire to explore queer and female characters…
Thirteen
Having a somewhat rare physical condition is a challenge in itself but attending Circle with it presented a unique, constantly uphill struggle in itself. I am already used to facing discrimination in certain areas but while at Circle I was never offered any empathy (something that actors’/artists’ hearts should be pumping along with blood). I was not afforded the comfort of knowing I would not be penalized if I physically had to spend a few classes working a lesser capacity…
Twelve
Racism, prejudice, misogyny, ableism and favoritism are core values at Circle in the Square Theater School. They have done little to amend their wrongs since my time studying there. Their curriculum hasn’t changed. The administration and faculty is still predominantly White. The statements they made since the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd are nothing but virtue signaling. They have not reached out to their BIPOC alumni. They have not sent out emails making a statement. They have not answered valid questions alumni posed on their social media…
Eleven
While I credit you as marking the beginning of my actor’s journey, the road was less than smooth, one that had to be navigated carefully as a person of color, all while trying to remain open and pliable in becoming an artist. As an Asian American (& one of the very few at the entire school), I have encountered a few racist and prejudiced instances committed by your all-white faculty that may not have appeared on the radar to a White observer, but that does not make it any less true or damaging. I will name 3 instances that have stayed with me for over the past 15 years since I was a student there…
Ten
I was a student of color at Circle in the Square Theater School in Manhattan. Actors of color have little to no proper voice, even in the year 2020, and institutions such as Circle in the Square Theater School have long contributed to this. POC will always respond to white voices before that courtesy is reciprocated. So, for once, our voice will be heard…