MFA Student Profile: Aaron Gotlieb

Name: Aaron Gotlieb

Age: 36

Where are you from?

Atlanta, GA

What is your performance/theater background?

I received a BFA in Theatre with honors from Columbus State University.

What were you doing just before you came to the Accademia professional/performance wise?

I have been a professional Actor in Atlanta since 2005. While I worked several positions at different companies and theaters, I specialize in puppetry and theater for young audiences .

 Where did you first learn about the Accademia and what specifically about this program made you want to attend?

I learned about ADA at SETC. I was considering graduate schools, but hadn’t found one that I wanted more than just a degree, but specifically to study the subjects they were offering. Physical theater sounded like my own approach, which I had developed out of practice and not had the opportunity to “study”. I also liked the outward facing funnel approach, rather than focus in on one thing for years, you started with physical theater and would learn to perform, create, direct, write, design, etc.

What have been some of the most influential/impactful moments of your training at ADA so far?

Autocorso, the creation of a new theater piece every two weeks, has been a really important part of the program for me. It allows for the rapid experimentation and feedback needed to become comfortable creating new works.

What is something unexpected that you’ve found while working towards your MFA?

As soon as you’re going across the sea, the job offers start pouring in.

What work that you have done during your time in the MFA program are you most proud of?

I am not a naturally gifted musician, so it has been nice to grow more confident in singing and dance classes.

What is the connection like with your fellow MFA classmates?

We have become very close, basically a family at this point. We work, live and create together, and of course, sometimes we drive each other up the wall. But that’s okay, I’m pretty sure we’d have to learn how to do that in Circus School anyway.

How would you describe the interaction with the teaching faculty and guest artists? 

It’s been great to work with so many talented artists from all over the world. You not only get to know their experiences in their chosen field, but to see the perspective from someplace foreign to you. It’s also quite different from undergraduate training, the work is up to you, but you have this wide and varied team of coaches pressing you to go farther and farther.

How would you describe the experience of living and working in Italy?

Arezzo is a nice little city, very livable. There are stores and restaurants enough, without too many distractions from the work we’re really here to do. However, Florence, Rome, the beach and mountains aren’t far away either, so you can always go out and do something when you want to.

What are you most looking forward to in the coming year?

After seeing their show, Infinita, I’m very excited to work with the Family Floz company in year two.

Looking beyond the program what are your plans post-graduation? How would you like to use your degree? What direction do you see yourself moving in ie: teaching, performing, company creation etc…

After creating an international smash hit theatrical phenomenon a few months after graduation, I plan to tour the world with it for years before starring in a wildly popular television series and then living in quiet comfort as one of the great comedy legends of stage and screen as a writer and performer. Until I die in my late hundreds in a tragic, yet hilarious, jetpack incident that guarantees a notorious immortality.

Who would you recommend the program to, who is a good fit for this program? 

A confident, motivated creator with enough professional experience to able to take control of their own studies, but not so much that they are stuck in their ways. Also, they should really like to eat Gelato.