The "BC Bubble." We've all heard of it, and we've all experienced it at some point. Its allure can be very tempting.
But Tyler Hollinger, CSOM '05, is part of a small number of students who have ventured outside Boston College's comfortable campus to perform in Boston's theatre district. "I'm driven to succeed at this," he said, with the confidence and zeal.
The play that Hollinger is performing in is called Shakespeare's R&J, written by Joe Calarco and directed by Barlow Adamson. It is a modern twist on the timeless tale of forlorn lovers - Hollinger describes the production as "Romeo and Juliet with all the boring parts cut out ... like pulp Romeo and Juliet."
R&J centers around four Catholic school boys, and with the characters divided among the four actors. He plays Student No. 3, who plays Mercutio, as well as the Friar and Lady Capulet.
The Devanaughn Theatre, located at 791 Tremont St., is housing the production and seats 40 people. Hollinger spends nearly 20 hours a week at the theatre and just as many hours at home going over his script.
"Any good actor knows that [rehearsal] is not the period when you get your work done. It's when you're sitting at home by yourself and you're making the text real to you and you're understanding what exactly you're saying and why you're saying it," he said.
Though he's been in only two BC productions (Hamlet and Life Under Water), Hollinger has been active in Boston and was accepted into the National Theater Institute, an intensive semester-long program at the Eugene O' Neil Center in Waterford, Conn. The program lasts from 6:30 a.m. until 10 p.m., six days a week.
"It's exactly what I want, because it doesn't have any distractions," he said. "A lot of people think that they're just going to go to New York and take classes. Well, it's not that simple. There are a lot of distractions in New York."
Hollinger attributes much of his success to Stage Source, which sends out weekly e-mails that list audition notices and jobs as well as playwright and directing opportunities. As far as the local Boston theatre scene, Hollinger says that it is "very open, very forgiving, very united - everyone knows everyone." Word of mouth spreads quickly throughout this community, and a good attitude and work ethic can open many doors.
A comment made by a high school teacher led Hollinger to theatre. "All through school, I'd sort of be that class clown, always cracking jokes. I was more interested in making people laugh than getting the answers right," he recalled.
When his freshman teacher reprimanded him and told him to take his act onstage and out of her classroom, he took the comment to heart. Hollinger had the lead in the first play he auditioned for, and also had roles in The Music Man and The Wizard of Oz.
While he did not know always know that acting would become his passion, he always knew that he wanted to pursue it on some level. "I just tried it one time and I liked it," he said. "And it stuck. And that's basically the reason why I became an actor - because I like it. It's who I am. Something inside me is turned on to that; it's ingrained in me. It's what I was meant to do."
Juggling his school work and his passion for theatre has left him with little free time. "Well, I don't get out much. That's for sure," he joked. Virtually all of his time is spent on casting calls, classes, audition monologues, and rehearsals.
"I don't know of any other people here who do what I do," he said, "and I don't know why they don't. The real world of acting and auditioning is a lot different than it is here at BC. It's a very comfortable world here. I think a lot of people are in for a rude awakening."
Hollinger has his own philosophy when it comes to acting and school. "One of the new realizations that I've come across ... is that nobody can make your work good, and the bottom line is whether or not you make it real for yourself, and how you go about doing that. In the end, when you're out of school, you need to know how to teach yourself."
You can look for Hallinger's face in an upcoming Gillette commercial and watch him perform at the Devanaughn Theatre from March 12 through 27. Tickets are $12 for students.
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