As part of the ongoing Playbill feature series How Did I Get Here—which spotlights not only actors, but directors, designers, musicians, and others who work on and off the stage to create the magic that is live theatre—numerous artists have shared their journeys to Broadway, including the many conservatories, colleges, and graduate schools that were pivotal to their eventual success. Some also learned through years of on-the-job training, and many continue to study privately.

Below, as part of Playbill's Back to School Week coverage, we compiled 30 theatre professionals' answers to the question, "Where did you train/study?" and "Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?" Read their responses below, and click here for the full series of interviews.

Choreographer Fabian Aloise
I trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia—both as a secondary (high school) student and at university level. 

I had a ballet teacher at the VCA who was also ballet mistress for the Australian Ballet company, my dream job upon graduating. She pulled me aside one day and told me that it wasn’t going to happen for me. I was not tall enough to start in the corps de ballet, and I wasn’t good enough to go in straight into the company as a soloist. I was devastated. She, however, told me of a company of West Side Story that was auditioning and encouraged me to enter the world of musical theatre. For me, a young ballet student, musical theatre was something I’d never considered. She told me, “You’ll excel in this field” and assured me that my technique was well above average, but my body wasn’t what the Australian Ballet company would hire as a company member. As harsh as it was at the time, she saved me from a life of disappointment and opened up a world of possibility.

Actor Major Attaway
I learned how to sing lead at church. I learned how to sing in a chorus at the Texas Boys Choir. I learned how to act in an ensemble at Casa Mañana Theatre. I learned how to originate lead roles at Jubilee Theater. One year at Chicago College of Performing Arts and one at Texas Wesleyan University.

Rudy Eastman [was particularly impactful]. Co-founder of Jubilee Theater. He helped me to see consistent value in my authenticity at 16. He would write original pieces as well as interpret theatre classics to reflect my life experience. Lessons I use to ground myself in the work to this day.

Musician Elena Bonomo
I studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. 

I am still in touch with my private teacher and mentor, Neal Smith. He saw something in me from the beginning and has been nothing but kind, supportive, and encouraging over the years. As a student, he pushed me to be the best drummer I can be during our lessons. I still live by his greatest piece of advice: "Take care of the music, and the music will take care of you."

Actor Bryson Bruce
I graduated from Mizzou [University of Missouri] in 2024, but have been studying theatre since I was seven, when I enrolled in the Academy of Performing Arts, a local community acting school in Grandview, Missouri. I learned something new with each play and musical I was involved in ever since.

Dan Roberts was the first acting teacher I ever had. He wrote his own plays and musicals and poured all he had into teaching fledgling thespians the craft. He started me on this journey, and I can’t thank him enough.

Composer Kate Diaz
I studied music at Berklee. My major was for orchestration/arranging and recording/music production, and I was a guitar principal. The faculty and curriculum at Berklee were so impactful to me and really shaped the musician I am today. I feel so grateful to have gotten to learn from incredible musicians, who are also inspiring and knowledgeable teachers. Their extensive classwork gave us the opportunity to develop so many skills and tools I still use daily—from orchestrating for big band and full orchestra to producing studio sessions to scoring for media. I also had many amazing guitar teachers there, including Bob Stanton, whose fingerstyle expertise really elevated my playing.

Actor Brandon Victor Dixon
I am a graduate of Columbia University here in the city. My voice teacher Jack Waddell, who just recently passed away, was particularly impactful. He molded my voice into what it is today.

Musical Director Dominic Fallacaro
I studied jazz piano at the New School in New York. It was a great place to both study with music legends from Reggie Workman to Bernard Purdie, and to also immerse myself in the life of a gigging musician.

Actor Elizabeth Gillies
I took acting, singing, and dancing lessons somewhat consistently throughout my childhood, but my training wasn’t very extensive. Paper Mill Playhouse’s summer intensive and one two-week summer session at the Lee Strasberg Institute were probably the most formative ones for me. Even so, both were brief and I was a pre-teen. I started working professionally around 12, so being on set and on stage at a young age ended up being the best training for me. Although, I probably should’ve studied more.

I studied with Alice Spivak for a little while when I was a teen; I really liked her. She was very straightforward, very real. I think she was the first and only acting coach I ever really connected with.

Actor Gianna Harris
I have no formal training. I didn’t go to a performing arts high school or college. All of my teachers were people that I found along the way. The advice and support they have all shared with me has shaped the performer I am today.

There are two incredible women that impacted me the most and are the reason for all of my success. Natalie Megules was my first ever vocal teacher; she was the person that introduced me to musical theatre and encouraged me to pursue a career in the arts. I was simultaneously working with Debra Micheals, who taught me how to be a performer. She granted me so many opportunities that have crafted me to be the performer I am today.

Set and Costume Designer Marg Horwell
I attended university in Melbourne, Australia, studying Creative Arts, which was a multidisciplinary course including almost everything except what I ended up doing. The course actually offered Theatre Design as a unit one year, and I enrolled in it, but there weren't enough people for it to run, so it was canceled. I didn't know you had to unenroll if a course didn't run, so on my university transcript, the only subject I have failed is Theatre Design!

Actor Nikki M. James
I went to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to earn my bachelor’s degree in drama. My focus was on musical theatre. Although I received wonderful training there, this is the kind of discipline where you never stop “training” or studying. I continue to study with incredible coaches privately for acting and voice. I've taken and continue to take classes with teachers and artists that inspire me, and every time I see theatre or watch a movie, I’m learning something.

I’ve had some incredible teachers in my life. It would be so difficult to name just one. The best of them pushed me outside of my comfort zone, while also always making me feel safe to fall or fail. My freshman year acting teacher Marty New is still a dear friend and mentor. My high school choir teacher Mrs. Spyros pushed me to sing more choral music. My high school choreographer Michael Scannelli taught me to tap. My current acting coach Bob Krakower keeps me honest. My current voice teacher Sarah Brown is opening up parts of my voice I didn’t know existed. My first singing coach Bob Marks helped me get into college and prepared me for all my early auditions. I could go on!

Actor Alison Jaye
I truthfully believe that my training began with my first professional job, which was Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park With George at Roundabout’s Studio 54 when I was 10 years old. That company, the cast, and experience opened my eyes to just about everything. At such a young age, I was taken under the wing of these astonishing artists from London to New York and shown the true value of work ethic, diligence, craft, trust, creativity, and passion. A practical application of the craft that I got to watch shape shift every day in the rehearsal room to the stage to performance, time and time again. The most vivid of times for me, still.

That show began my career as a child actress, which led me to more opportunities on Broadway working with phenomenal artists that continued to shape who I am while showing me the ropes. When they say, “life is your biggest teacher,” I thoroughly believe that to be true. It is all of our experience in the world that trains us and shapes us. I then continued my education in California at USC’s BFA Acting program, which had me in Los Angeles learning and working for the past 11 years. And now I am finally home, back on the stage in New York where it all began for me, learning new things every single day with our family over at Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

Casting Director Geoff Josselson
NYU Tisch School of the Arts at the Playwrights Horizons Theatre School and the Experimental Theatre Wing.

My high school drama teacher, Debbie Thompson, was really amazing and created a fantastic drama program in our small Philadelphia suburbs. Not only did she direct elaborate school shows and create an after-school Drama Club and Thespian Society, but just as I got into high school, she convinced the school to add drama classes to the curriculum. She really gave us theatre-obsessed kids an outlet and held us to a high standard. She impressed upon us the importance of professionalism, humility, and hard work. While I loved being onstage, she also encouraged me to explore all aspects of theatre and gave me opportunities to direct, produce, stage manage, build sets, design posters, write plays, and hold leadership positions. I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing without her early influence, encouragement, and support.

Actor Adam Kantor
It all started locally on Long Island, where I grew up. I did shows at Great Neck North Middle and High School. On weekends, I’d take the LIRR into NYC to take classes and rush whatever shows I could. My high school drama teacher, Laura Stern, recommended I spend a summer at Stella Adler Conservatory, which was probably my first shot at formal training. I then majored in theatre at Northwestern University (devouring as much as possible in Chicago), and spent a semester focusing on Shakespeare at the British American Drama Academy in England.

Sound Designer Daniel Kluger
Jazz piano lessons growing up were the luckiest accident. Then I majored in English at Yale, and while I was there fell deep into theatre, being so close to the Drama School. Friends asked me to create music for their plays, and I haven’t stopped. The first professional job I had, I was surprised when they asked me to record and mix the score, which was daunting. Now it’s so common that composers are also producers and can express their ideas in recordings. For me, it’s a blessing that composing projects forced me to learn how to use the studio. It’s really influenced me creatively, and I’m obsessed with the latest guitar pedals, synths, and how electronic production can be integrated with acoustic music.

Actor Beth Leavel
Still training! Still studying! But I have an MFA from UNC-Greensboro. And a BA in Social Work/Counseling from Meredith College. There was no theatre major at Meredith—just a minor. But there was this teacher, Linda Bamford. She encouraged, taught, inspired, and enlightened. Same with Dr. John Joy at UNC-G. He changed my life by believing in me. And pushing me out of my comfort zone.

Actor Bianca Leigh
Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts. The whole faculty was amazing, and I have to thank Kathryn Gately-Poole for shepherding a bunch of kids through Meisner—it couldn’t have been easy. The teacher who made the most impact on me, though, was Bill Esper. I had auditioned for Bill my senior year of high school. There were a bunch of kids in the lobby with portfolios, professional headshots and resumes, and there I was in jeans and a T-shirt, holding onto a worn, rolled-up script. Throughout my time there, Bill made it clear that he believed in me, even when some of the other teachers didn’t. I really needed that, and I’ll always be grateful.

Actor Alan Mingo, Jr.
My training began in high school, much like many young people, joining my school’s drama club, chamber ensemble, and taking private vocal lessons. From there I was awarded both the Maryland Distinguished Scholarship (for Vocal Excellence) from the state and the CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts) Scholarship from UMD. I chose to study at UMD (College Park) with a BA in Drama. Directly from my undergraduate degree, I wanted to go for my masters. I decided to attend the University of California, Irvine, where I received my MFA in Acting.

Actor Kate Mulgrew
I trained at NYU under the great Stella Adler, who changed my life, ruffled, and redefined my sense of self, threw me about, and shouted, “I’ll knock the Iowa out of you if it’s the last thing I do! Learn what it is to be epic!”

Actor Amanda Reid
I went to a performing arts school from 8th to 12th grade after leaving competitive gymnastics. After high school, I started college at Shenandoah Conservatory and am currently pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre.

In high school, one of my dance teachers, DeeDee Munson, always believed in me and never let me settle for anything less than the best. In college, Kevin Covert, the head of ShenCo's MT program, has always looked out for me and has always made me feel seen.

Actor Justin Matthew Sargent
I got my BFA degree in Musical Theatre from UCF [University of Central Florida], and I also studied with Deborah Hedwall here in NYC. 

My professors at UCF were each so incredibly impactful in different ways. Jim Brown, Judi Siegfried, Earl Weaver, and Dr. Steve Chicurel were the four instructors I studied under the most during my time at UCF, and they all brought so much passion for the art form to their respective areas of expertise. I was very lucky to have been molded by their leadership and wisdom.

Sound Designer Dan Moses Schreier
I was born in Detroit and spent my freshman year at the University of Michigan. At the end of my freshman year, I was offered a year-long job in New York. I then continued my studies at Columbia University and New York University.

In the year I took off from my studies, I worked as assistant to the composer Stanley Silverman, helping with various projects that introduced me to the New York theatre world. It was a true apprenticeship. 

Stage Manager Justin Scribner
I was very involved in theatre as a teenager, with children's theatre, community theatre, and my high school, H-B Woodlawn in Arlington, Virginia, where our incredible drama teachers encouraged us to self-produce and direct our own pieces—so I became a very passionate collaborator early on! We did 13 shows a year at school, and I got to try many different hats on—director, producer, designer, and technician. I got my BFA in Theatre Production and Stage Management from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, and was very fortunate to get an internship just after my senior year at the Kennedy Center as a part of the Sondheim Festival. When I moved to New York City in 2002, I had one goal: to work full time as a theatre maker somehow!

Actor Christopher Sieber
I went to The American Musical and Dramatic Academy here in NYC. There were teachers at AMDA, but the teachers who changed my life were in high school: Jane Gilles, Henry Hebert, Deb Bendix, and Susan Novak. They all saw something in me that I did not. They literally told me to get out of Minnesota and head to N.Y. or L.A. I thank them every time I see them.

Actor Calvin Leon Smith
I studied theatre in undergrad at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and completed the acting apprenticeship at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. A couple of years after ATL and hustling in NYC, I received my MFA from The Juilliard School, and the summer between my second and third years did the British American Drama Academy Midsummer in Oxford program. 

There are so many [teachers], but one who really sticks out is Deb Hecht during my time at Juilliard. She taught voice and speech and was excellent at teaching it. Her passion fueled my love for those elements of the craft. I still use her warmups before performances, and her tools are all up in my work on stage.

Lighting Designer Ben Stanton
I got a BA and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I had an amazing mentor in lighting design Professor Penny Remsen at UMass.

Actor Jason Tam
NYU Tisch. I also spent one magical summer studying at the Shakespeare Lab at The Public Theater. Mana Allen taught me vocal performance at NYU, and she stood out because you could tell how much she was rooting for every single one of her students. She was constructively straightforward, and she always emphasized holding on to my own specificity and individuality.

Composer Michael Thurber
Juilliard for college, Interlochen Arts Academy for high school, which was incredibly formative for me. The person who taught me how to play the bass and first told me I had the potential to be a professional was Cindy Schnabel, my public middle-school orchestra teacher. Her belief in me—and later, as an adult, her friendship and guidance—is the reason why I am where I am today. After that, I would say my dear friend Jon Batiste was the best teacher I ever had for learning how to improv and dig into the language of jazz.

Lighting Designer Justin Townsend
I studied theatre and fine art at UMass Amherst with Penny Remsen and Miguel Romero. After working in the city for four years, I met the brilliant Chris Akerlind and went to CalArts to study with him, Chris Barreca, Erik Ehn, Mona Heinze.

Actor Susan Kelechi Watson
Howard University and NYU. [Impactful teachers:] Ron Van Lieu and Jim Calder. Ron laid the foundation for the actor I am today. He taught me to give all of me and not to hold back. Jim taught me how to do "it" afraid and to be courageous enough to embrace the unknown and figure it out as I go.