For most college seniors, the conclusion of ceremonies on graduation day means parties, family gatherings, and the end of homework. For Carnegie Mellon's Hunter Ryan Herdlicka (A'09), it meant walking from Gesling Stadium to his car, pitching his cap and gown on the passenger seat, and driving seven hours to New York City to see whether he could make it there.
Two years earlier, as a sophomore, the aspiring actor heard drama-alum-turned-Hollywood-star Patrick Wilson (A'95) speak about his own journey. Wilson's advice? Start saving your money now, because devoting yourself to auditioning in Manhattan gets expensive, fast. So Herdlicka started saving.
He did something else, too. His senior year, he took the stage at the School of Drama's annual Carnegie Senior Showcase, where students are seen by professionals in television, film, and theater. His performance landed him an agent, which is a big step for every starry-eyed actor.
But even with enough money for a temporary Manhattan sublet and with a professional agent, Herdlicka was understandably nervous when he crept through the Holland Tunnel for the first time. New York City is littered with wanna-be actors who never get a big break. With the city's intimidating skyline laid out before him and the few worldly possessions he hadn't sold for gas money in the trunk behind him, he wondered whether he had what it would take.
He needn't have worried. It was a long drive-but a short ride. Just a few days after his arrival, his agent got him his first audition. A day after that, his first callback. Soon, he was reciting lines in front of Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim. And just days after commencement, he was cast as one of the supporting leads in the first revival of Sondheim's "A Little Night Music," opposite movie star Catherine Zeta Jones and Broadway legend Angela Lansbury.
-Bradley A. Porter (HS'08)
Related Links:
Broadway Show Features Young Alum
Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, Night Music's Henrik, to Return to Feinstein's in November
