While the typical college application process can be lengthy, seniors interested in pursuing theatrical majors must submit auditions, in addition to their applications. College auditions are a challenging process, still, multiple Midtown students are proceeding. Meanwhile, multiple Midtown alumni have found success in pursuing college theatre programs. 

Naomi Kester

Senior Naomi Kester played leads in both musicals this year, including Joanne in “RENT” and Janis in “Mean Girls.” Besides performing, Kester also enjoys dramatic writing.

“I discovered my love for dramatic writing freshman year in my theater fundamentals class,” Kester said. “We had an assignment where we had to write our own scene and perform it in front of the class. Being able to write collaboratively with my friends and make such a good product was probably some of the most fun I’ve had in my high school experience, and getting to continue that in college is such a blessing.”

Kester wants to double major in dramatic writing and journalism in college, due to her love for writing and passion for telling stories. 

“I mainly wanted to major in dramatic writing because I have always kind of seen a future for myself as a screenwriter for television and movies,” Kester said. “That’s always been a big dream of mine. I have a very deep love for writing and telling stories that go unheard, which is the reason why I write poetry and why I write short stories and why I do journalism, so dramatic writing is kind of just another avenue of that storytelling that I believe is so much more impactful.” 

Kester said she has committed to her dream school, New York University (NYU). The University has a department dedicated to the study of dramatic writing. 

“I chose NYU because, similar to my dreams of dramatic writing, NYU has also been a dream of mine since I was very young,” Kester said. “Of course my top schools have changed as I’ve grown older, but NYU has always been a very important school to me. And being accepted to not only the school itself, but to Tisch School of the Arts was an offer I really couldn’t turn down. I also got extremely good financial aid through scholarships that I’m very grateful for, which helped a lot with the decision. When I get to New York, I’m most excited to be in a place with a bunch of creatives and be in a place with so many opportunities for dramatic writing.”

Leo Rose

Leo Rose graduated from Midtown in 2025 and is now attending NYU for dramatic writing. Rose said he ended up deciding on NYU for multiple reasons, including their strong writing program and the overall environment. 

“There are many reasons why I applied to NYU, one of the main ones being that their writing program is the strongest,” Rose said. “It has [playwriting, screenwriting and television writing], and many colleges related to writing really only focus on screenwriting or playwriting … Then, of course, New York City is a very artistic city that will really influence who I meet and how my writing evolves.” 

Rose has been interested in writing since he was a child, but he did not know that playwriting was what would interest him. 

“I’ve always been interested in the arts,” Rose said. “I remember, as a kid, I wrote a little children’s book called ‘The Adventures of Joe.’ I remember writing three different parts and rewriting them countlessly. Even in class I would write comic books about stick figures fighting, so I always knew that I wanted to write something. I just didn’t know it would be related to theatre. I thought it would be screenwriting or film writing.”

Rose said Midtown’s theatre program is what inspired him to try playwriting and led to his decision to pursue it as a major. 

“I would never have done theatre or been into theatre without Midtown High School,” Rose said. “They had really great classes to introduce someone who had never been on stage before, and they really helped me understand the core parts of theatre. I got into playwriting through the Thespian Playwriting Competition. Winning those two awards really helped me decide that this was something I wanted to pursue in college. I don’t think I would’ve had that full confidence to pursue writing or really have even considered playwriting if it wasn’t for Midtown.”

Marissa Rainey 

Senior Marissa Rainey has been the technical director for four shows this year. This job entails leadership in designing, constructing and executing all of the technical aspects of a show based on the director’s vision. 

“When I entered high school, I knew I was interested in theatre, but I didn’t find a lot of success or excitement in acting, which is the first thing a lot of people turn to when they’re interested in theatre,” Rainey said. “I really found that I enjoy facilitating someone’s vision and creating something they may not be able to create by themselves, the same way some visual artists enjoy making commissions for those who can’t draw. I enjoy building something and making a director’s vision come to life. As a technical director, you are supposed to be understanding and conceptualizing visions while also managing construction techniques or design principles. You act as the bridge between the art and concept and idea portion to the reality and concrete, tangible possibilities.” 

Rainey is considering committing to Columbus State University, but has yet to make a final decision. But she has decided on her major, which will be technical theatre.  

“I really can’t imagine doing a lot else in college,” Rainey said. “I have not found something else that I enjoy and could do as much as I do theatre. I take so many classes and do so much afterschool stuff, and I’m still interested in doing it, so I feel like that proves it’s what I should do.”

At the Georgia Thespian Conference in February, Rainey received a technical theatre scholarship. This scholarship is providing her with $2,000 towards her school of choice. 

“My Georgia Thespian Scholarship was really wonderful, not just for the money, but it also boosted my confidence that I am a strong contender in the field,” Rainey said. “Of course not every person pursuing tech theatre in college applied, but it was very inspiring to me that I was able to win it out of everyone that applied. It was a really good reminder of where I stand, because I think it’s very easy in any kind of art to constantly be looking ahead and looking at the person who is the best and trying to reach their level. Sometimes, you just need to be reminded of how far you’ve come.” 

Kinley Roberts

Midtown Class of 2025 graduate Kinley Roberts is now majoring in stage management at The Theatre School (TTS) at DePaul University. This is a conservatory program, which is a highly intensive performing arts training institution, so Roberts has a different curriculum and set of class requirements compared to the rest of the students.  

“DePaul has a relatively small, community-oriented program, but still has some incredible facilities, and I love the campus,” Roberts said. “I think what really sold me was how tight-knit my major is; there’s only 18 of us total, and how much my advisor cares about us inside and outside of TTS.” 

Roberts said the application process was no easy feat. For many theatre programs, students are expected to apply and be accepted into the college and its theatre school.  

“The application process was a lot; for DePaul, it involved the whole normal process, another major-specific essay, submitting my portfolio and a one-on-one interview with my advisor,” Roberts said. “It took a lot of time to get my portfolio together, but I think the hardest part was balancing scheduling and preparing for interviews for half a dozen schools while still having a full course load and being very involved in theatre at Midtown.”

Roberts said the Midtown Theatre program inspired them to pursue stage management professionally. 

“Midtown opened the door for me to get where I am right now in many ways,” Roberts said. “It opened my eyes to stage management and theatre, in general, and the community was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to do this professionally.”

Lizzie Lyman

Senior Lizzie Lyman played Cady in “Mean Girls” this spring. She is planning on minoring in theatre in college and has been interested in the performing arts since her freshman year.

“Ever since I started doing theatre in freshman year, I knew I wanted to continue it in some capacity as long as I could,” Lyman said. “What really made me consider it as a course of study instead of an extracurricular was the idea of being a theatre teacher instead of a professional performer, which is a highly competitive and stressful field.”

Lyman said she received advice about pursuing theatre in college from theatre teacher and director Brooke Collins.

“[Collins] has been an incredible mentor for me since she came to Midtown,” Lyman said. “When she first got here, I communicated to her that I was thinking of pursuing theatre education, and from that point forward she has provided me with so much advice and guidance to help me understand the role of a director.”

Emmie Snead

Emmie Snead, a 2025 graduate, is now majoring in musical theater at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts. 

“Ever since I was a little girl, all I ever wanted to do was act,” Snead said. “I didn’t really have a preference as to what type of acting, film, straight plays or musicals, and honestly I still feel that way. But in middle school, I met my first love, ‘Beetlejuice the Musical.’ That sparked my love for musical theatre and starting to do shows and classes in high school just solidified it, which ultimately made me decide that was what I was specifically going to study in college instead of just theatre.”

While Snead was not given particular outside advice about majoring in performing arts, she said that majoring in performing arts is all about confidence and hard work.

“If I were to give advice about majoring in the performing arts, this is it: do it,” Snead said. “Read your plays; work really hard; practice a ton; take every single opportunity you have to perform or take a class or practice. Be extremely kind to everyone and always be yourself, even if it’s not what you think they want to see. The last thing people want to see from an actor is someone pretending to be someone they’re not, which sounds counterintuitive to the entire idea of acting, but that’s all it is: an idea.”