For Milly Millhauser, nothing compares to the moment when the curtain goes up and the lights hit the stage. 

‘There’s a magical feeling that takes over, and suddenly you’re in a different world where anything is possible,’ said Millhauser, a senior acting major.

She’s eager and driven. But the theater industry has a reputation of being cutthroat, and sometimes passion is not enough.

For graduates of the Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts Department of Drama, there is an organization that helps students break into the industry. The Araca Group, a New York-based theater production company, has partnered with the drama department to help students gain knowledge about the business. The organization financially supports graduates by producing their written work for New York City’s off-Broadway stages.

‘Pluck the Day,’ the first of the four plays produced in this inaugural season of The Araca Project, opened Sept. 8.

Talks for the project began in April 2010, and definite plans and details of the project were finalized in summer 2010. The Araca Project began accepting applications for students’ works in early January 2011 and set a deadline for March 15.

Graduates of the drama department applied to The Araca Project by sending their original works for consideration, said James Clark, a professor of drama in VPA. From that applicant pool, four student works were selected April 11 to be produced off-Broadway.

Matt Britten, whose work ‘Odyssey’ was selected for the project, said that although he has achieved some success in the industry on his own, he is grateful for the opportunity that The Araca Project has given him.

‘I had previously directed a musical that went on to win at a small theater festival, but everything that Araca is doing for us is far beyond anything I could have achieved on my own,’ said Britten, a 2007 acting graduate of the drama department.

An important aspect of The Araca Project is that neither the selection panel nor The Araca Group directors have artistic responsibility or input, giving the alumni an advantage in the industry.

‘The role of The Araca Group is to financially support and educate SU graduates on the many aspects of the business,’ Clark said. ‘The creative control belongs to the students.’

Alumni have not only been gaining real industry experience, but they’ve been actively supporting their peers on their journey.

‘The SU alumni turnout for the first opening night was overwhelming,’ said Danielle von Gal, an executive producer of The Araca Project and 2009 acting graduate of the drama department. ‘I’d never seen so many graduates come out in support of their friends and former classmates.’

Von Gal said that The Araca Group looks forward to maintaining ties with alumni of the SU drama department.

‘The idea behind the project is that The Araca Group opens the door for us into the theater industry,’ Britten said. ‘It is up to us, the producers who won, to walk through it.’

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Published on September 12, 2011 at 12:00 pm

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