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Samuel Smalls

785

Bold Points

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Finalist

Bio

I am a determined, ambitious and hardworking human and am constantly doing everything in my power to achiever my dreams. I transferred schools in my senior year from a Pre-Law program to a Performing Arts program to follow a dream I have had since before I could form full sentences but I could hum songs from The Wiz musical. I got into my dream school for it to abruptly close a year after my freshman year. Through it all, continue to be driven and determined to accomplish my dream. After receiving my BFA in Acting, I plan on using my training in order to become a multi-hyphenate artist, director, performer, writer and producer of all mediums as well as create programs and initiatives in order to ensure access to Arts Education in communities that don’t usually have access or the ability to afford it.

Education

SUNY at Purchase College

Bachelor's degree program
2024 - 2024
  • Majors:
    • Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft

The University of the Arts

Bachelor's degree program
2023 - 2024
  • Majors:
    • Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft

Dillard 6-12

High School
2022 - 2023

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Bachelor's degree program

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Visual and Performing Arts, General
    • Visual and Performing Arts, Other
    • Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Performing Arts

    • Dream career goals:

      Stage & Screen Actor, Writer, Producer, Director and Arts Educator

    • Director-Choreographer, Set/Lighting Designer

      The Lowell School
      2024 – Present10 months

    Sports

    Track & Field

    Junior Varsity
    2016 – 20193 years

    Research

    • Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management

      Writer
      2023 – 2024

    Arts

    • Ira Brind School of Theatre Arts

      Acting
      Marisol (The Man with Ice Cream/Scar Tissue)
      2023 – 2024
    • Dillard Center for the Arts

      Acting
      Carrie the Musical (George), King Hedley II (King Hedley II), The Color Purple Musical (Mister)
      2022 – 2023

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Politics

    Volunteering

    Philanthropy

    Entrepreneurship

    Dr. Magidson Memorial Theater Scholarship
    Lee Aca Thompson Performing Arts Scholarship
    I’m pursuing getting my BFA in Acting however my dream is to be a multi-hyphenate artist a singer, dancer, actor, director, choreographer and producer. My journey as an artist is very different I’ve been performing my entire life it’s always been my greatest joy and my artistry has always been my most prized possession. However when I was in 4th grade I had a teacher tell me that although I said I wanted to be a singer/dancer/writer/director/choreographer like my idol Micheal Jackson it wasn’t a safe career choice. I was then pushed on the path of being a lawyer and being a Black boy growing up in Florida I had a passion for activism so I stayed on that path although I never stopped feeding my creative fire. I kept writing and performing or choreographing a dance in every Black History Month or Talent Show and in those spaces was where I felt the most in my element. During the pandemic, I tapped into a creative vein that I didn’t even know I had access to and wrote music and stories that I didn’t even know I had the capabilities to do. That coupled with the feeling that I felt when I was creating that I couldn’t find anywhere else I realized that this is what my calling was. So I transferred schools in my senior year to a Performing Arts program sacrificing my ability to go to prom, the senior trip and even take senior pictures all so I could save money to go to New York with my class and audition for college. It’s been two years since I’ve made that decision and it’s the best one I’ve ever made in my life I have played roles that I couldn’t have even thought were possible to dream about and grown as a human as an artist simultaneously. I got into my dream school The University of the Arts and has a phenomenal year but a month after my Freshman year concluded my school abruptly shutdown. I’ve broken down my long term goals in to 3 B’s get my BFA, which I plan on getting from SUNY Purchase college. My second B is for Blockbusters/Broadway, I want to be able to create art and be a storyteller and participate in storytelling across the stage and the screen and all mediums in all capacities. My 3rd B is Black & Brown Arts Education, when I was in high school I worked as a student mentor at the local predominantly Black Parkway Middle School of the Arts and it brought me the greatest joy to see the kids I worked with come out of their shells and shine when it was time to do their productions of Hairspray and The Wiz. I also currently work as a Director-Choreographer at a Summer Camp in Washington DC and it means the world to me to be able to pass on the gifts from the educators I’ve had. I want to make Arts Education more accessible for Black & Brown kids and in marginalized communities where kids can’t afford it. If I had access to Arts Education when I was younger I’d be a completely different human and artist today. I want to start an initiative that specializes in scholarships, conservatories and other support for kids of color studying the arts.
    John Traxler Theatre Scholarship
    I'm pursuing a career as a theatre artist because it is what I was born to do. I am passionate about fine arts because it can make people feel and think in a way nothing else on this planet can. I will always credit two things for kickstarting my love of music and performing The Wiz and The Electronic Company. That’s where my love of everything involving a microphone, music or stage started. It is where I first witnessed the magic of seeing someone like me sing with a voice like me, it's through the music of The Electric Company that I learned to read and that "Silent E is a ninja". These pieces of art have made me the lover of art, the artist and the human that I am today. Prior to, and throughout elementary school I told everyone who asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", that I wanted to be a Singer, Dancer, Choreographer, Actor, Author (I really loved to read) Songwriter extraordinaire. Once I got to the 4th grade though I had a conversation with my teacher who explained to me that those careers aren’t very “safe” and based on my skillset and interests I should consider becoming an entertainment lawyer. Sort of like a “backup plan” however, that backup plan ended changing my life’s path. I ended up following the path of being a lawyer until I was a Junior in high school. This was right after the pandemic, during which I had the realization that I am meant to be a creative and I spent the lockdown creating, writing and imagining myself in the Hamilton and Shrek the Musical pro-shots. I then went back to school in 2021 as a Junior in my Pre-Law magnet program and had the worst year I had ever had academically and mentally due to numerous reasons but one of the biggest being that I knew that the program I was in and the path I was on was not where I belonged. So, I auditioned for and transferred schools in my Senior year foregoing Prom, our Senior trip and even taking senior photos so that my family would be able to afford for me to go to New York Unified auditions. I hit the ground running and haven't stopped since I got into my dream school The University of the Arts and it recently has abruptly closed but I know this is what I am meant to be doing. I keep pursuing this because creating art and arts education are what I feel my purpose on the Earth is to do. Making sure that people can see themselves on the screen or on stage or in an arts educational setting is important to me because I wouldn't be the artist that I am without the Black & Brown and Queer artists that I look up to and admire. I am passionate about these things because the world would be such a bleak place without artists and activism would be near impossible without the works of artist such as in the Harlem Renaissance. Art makes the world go around. Art changes and saves lives. Art changes minds and brings people together. I want to be an artist because I want to play my part in making the world a better more beautiful place.