Scott Kuiper plays “the Man” in APU’s latest production “Seven Stories.”
Courtesy: Austin O’ Brien Photography
While most Azusa Pacific students were still sleeping at 7 a.m., Feb. 17, senior BFA acting major Scott Kuiper was wide awake. Then again, this was no ordinary Monday morning for Kuiper; Florida State University called him at the early hour to offer him one of 12 spots as a Masters of Fine Arts student at Asolo Conservatory.
To only 12 students a year, the three-year program offers a full tuition waiver and stipend, New York showcase, six-week London program, year of working in the Asolo Reportory Theater, and upon graduation, eligibility to join the Actor’s Equity.
Born and raised in Tempe, Ariz., Kuiper began as a commercial music major. According to Kuiper, he was driving home the summer before his sophomore year when he heard a voice tell him, “You’re supposed to be an actor.” After notifying his parents, he listened to the voice and changed his major.
Although he has performed in five mainstage theater productions throughout his college career, Kuiper credits the classroom for much of his growth. Upon entering the theater program, he was simply ready to work hard and learn as much as possible, he explained.
“I don’t believe anyone would even recognize the kid that came into the department back in 2011,” Kuiper said. “My journey as a theater major completely changed my life, and I mean that in the most non-cliché way.”
Assistant professor Jill Brennan-Lincoln, head of the BFA in acting for the stage and screen, teaches acting for the camera where she works with students on auditioning for professional theater, film and television. In addition, Brennan-Lincoln directs the students in an Industry Showcase performed for casting directors, agents and managers in Los Angeles in the spring.
In her audition class, Brennan-Lincoln teaches the importance of “options” for an actor. During the fall semester, she prepared the students primarily for graduate school auditions, guiding them through the research and audition preparation. Every Wednesday, she met with each of the students, including Kuiper, outside class time.
Brennan-Lincoln commended Kuiper for his work ethic as well as his perseverance. The day before the seniors left for graduate school auditions, he requested an extra rehearsal with her in order to continue improving his monologues, she said.
Brennan-Lincoln will spend this semester helping her seniors prepare scenes for Hollywood Showcase at the end of the semester, which agents and casting directors will attend. Graduate school, according to Brennan-Lincoln, offers more training and may specifically interest actors more passionate about live theater than film.
“The seniors really stepped up, all of them, to the plate,” Brennan-Lincoln said. “This is a really good class, and they were very committed as a group and an ensemble.”
Feb. 8, Kuiper and the rest of his senior BFA acting cohort auditioned for approximately 30 graduate schools through the University/Resident Theatre Association. The association is specifically designed to “assist students with their transition to the profession,” according to the website. APU students auditioned in San Francisco, one of just three locations of URTA auditions in the United States.
Kuiper, along with the other APU students, had a mere two minutes to introduce himself and perform two contrasting monologues for more than 40 representatives at the URTA auditions. Called back to six different schools, Kuiper spent the rest of the day meeting with the representatives individually.
“Scott is talented and has an intense work ethic,” Brennan-Lincoln said. “I saw those monologues through the semester grow. They became what they became at the end because he just kept working them.”
Prior to auditioning, FSU Asolo Conservatory was Kuiper’s first choice of graduate schools. He said that after receiving the phone call, he could hardly believe the good news and waited four days before officially accepting the offer.
“Working with Scott for the past three years has been really inspiring,” senior BFA acting major Alison Campbell said. “He is one of the most passionate and dedicated people I have ever met, and it shows up in his work. It is really admirable, and I know that he has amazing things ahead of him.”
Campbell and Kuiper shared the stage during their junior year, acting as Beatrice and Benedick in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” Campbell said they have become best friends.
Kuiper said he is looking forward to a real summer vacation after graduation. Due to his major change, he had spent previous summers catching up on general education classes.
Kuiper acknowledged his classmates for influencing him as an actor and a human being. Humanity, he said, is the heart of all acting.
“In the end, what makes the art of acting so beautiful, is the lives and stories of the human beings themselves,” he said.
Kuiper said he hopes to spend as much time as possible with his friends before moving to Florida for the next chapter of his life. According to Kuiper, during his third year at the FSU Asolo Conservatory, he will perform in New York for some time as part of the program, but hopes to eventually return to Los Angeles.
“Ultimately, I would love to end up back in L.A. working in film and television, and being able to reach large audiences like film is able to do,” Kuiper said.