It’s that time of the week again: time to introduce more members of MFA Cohort V! Get to know Sloane, Ruta and Lindsey by reading their interview below!

Sloane Teagle

Where are you from?

I’m from Houston, Texas and I graduated from Texas State University where I received my BFA in Theatre Performance & Production.

What was your decision process that led you to choose the Accademia’s MFA in Physical Theatre?

I wanted to focus my graduate studies on pushing and growing myself as much as possible. I wanted to be a part of a program that would force me to do these things and ADA seemed to be the perfect fit. Also, I went to URTA and the callback for ADA was so different from any other callback I’ve been to before!

What are your expectations for living in another country for 2-plus years?

I foresee being challenged in ways that aren’t even fathomable at this point! I expect to be confused and uncomfortable an awful lot, but I also expect to be a new person, maybe a better person than who I am now because I’ve experienced the discomfort of feeling displaced and out of my comfort zone. I hope to be immersed in new cultures that have different perspectives on topics that influence me, not only as an artist, but also as a human being.

What do you hope to accomplish during your time in the MFA program?

I want to get out of my head!!! I live in my head. I want to be in my body. It’s an everyday struggle for me to stop thinking and just exist in the now. My mind serves not only as a stimulus for thought, but also a creative roadblock that has stopped me from doing a lot of things that I’ve wanted to do as a performer. I’d like to find a balance between my brain and my body, which will hopefully lead to true autonomy and a visceral connection to the art that’s created with my cohort while I’m here.

Ruta Marcinkenaite

Where are you from?  

I was born in Lithuania. I went to Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy and Vytautas Magnus University. I studied classical singing and musical singing.

What was your decision process that led you to choose the Accademia’s MFA in Physical Theatre?

I went to the URTA audition and then I did an audition with Fabio in Arezzo.  At first I thought it would be too expensive for me. After the audition with Fabio I felt that I didn’t know anything about this profession, but I believe in destiny. It happened and I feel that I am on the right path. I have a lot to learn. Only God knows what the future will bring.

What do you hope to accomplish during your time in the MFA program? What are your plans for after you complete the program?

My expectations is to move forward and reach my goals. I would like to improve everything: from body to acting. I finished two universities in Lithuania and after earning these degrees I didn’t look for a job, because I didn’t want to stay in my country. I felt that it was too small for me. I chose to improve myself and to reach for the dreams I’ve had all my life. So I am here and I expect that after this degree I will be more confident about myself as an artist.

Lindsey Root

Where are you from?

I am from central Pennsylvania, I went to University of Valley Forge and I studied Christian Ministries with a concentration in Drama and a minor in Youth Ministries.

What does “Physical Theatre” mean to you?

It is difficult to answer this question completely because I’m still trying to figure it out as I begin this adventure, so we will certainly end this answer with an ellipses. Physical Theatre to me is a wide and vague subject at this point in my studies. I think that all theatre at some level has to be “physical” and so that really leaves it open ended. But what I think a performance or a piece should be is more than just text from a page brought to life. Text isn’t an “end all, be all.” I like to experience the moment and the action that is being portrayed and I think that’s what Physical Theatre is (or should be), a story told not (merely) with text but with the body and emotion and visual experience for the audience… (see, there’s the three dots.)

What was your decision process that led you to choose the Accademia’s MFA in Physical Theatre?

I knew I wanted to pursue my MFA in Theatre or Acting but did not have a specific school in mind. Knowing that the acceptance rates for programs like this are very low I knew that blindly applying and auditioning would be ridiculous. I have a friend that went through the program at URTA for costume design and loved the experience so I decided to look into it and thought I had a shot. Throughout the entire nerve wracking experience I kept asking myself, “What do you want from an MFA program?” The answer I kept coming back to was that I just wanted to learn and experience more of what acting/theatre as a whole was all about. When I came across this program at ADA I was intrigued about the unique and different ways of teaching and performance offered, but was also excited about living in and learning from an entirely new culture (one my ancestors are from, too)!

What are your expectations for living in another country for 2 plus years?

I have a lot of expectations that came from other people who have experienced life abroad, but I would say that I mostly expect to learn a new way of living. Each culture is so different in how they interact daily, travel, speak, etc. and I think that to walk away without learning anything would be pretty difficult…also a complete failure of two years spent. Needless to say I imagine I will gain much insight about the way Italians view life and the priorities I set for myself in processing that way of life into my own.

What do you hope to accomplish in your time during the MFA program?

I hope to be able to walk away not just knowing more about Physical Theater, but also about myself as an actor. I would like to narrow down my strengths and weaknesses to really discover what life after a Masters degree entails and the direction of where that next adventure takes me.