Nancy Feldman
Blue Man Group
Orlando, FL USA
"It’s exhausting, but you have to look for [opportunities]...no one is going to bring it to you and don’t wait for someone else to find it for you."
Career Roadmap
Nancy's work combines: Acting & Theatre, Fashion, and Being Creative
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Take Roadmap QuizSkills & Education
Advice for getting started
Ultimately, this ended up being correct. Being an actor is really difficult. In order to pursue it as a career, you do have to love it so much that you are willing to sacrifice a lot of things in order to succeed. I eventually started realizing that I wasn't as passionate about it as I needed to be, so I made the decision to go a different direction. Pursuing backstage work, costuming, makeup, etc. allowed me to still be involved in theater, but on a level I was comfortable with.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General
Northwestern University
Bachelor's Degree
Economics, General
Northwestern University
Associate's Degree
Fashion/Apparel Design
Parsons School of Design
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Born and raised in Augusta, GA.
2.
Has been involved in theater ever since she was a young child—her mother even owned a children's theater company where she would volunteer.
3.
Went to a fine arts high school that allowed her to cultivate her love of theater.
4.
Attended Northwestern University where she received her degree in musical theater with a minor in economics.
5.
When she wasn’t performing in shows, she started helping out backstage with costumes and discovered she was more passionate about that than acting.
6.
Attended Parsons School of Design in New York City, where she received an associates degree in fashion studies and began working in costuming for television and Broadway.
7.
Decided to move to Florida to get away from the hustle of New York City—got an opportunity to work at Disney for a while.
8.
She now works as the Wardrobe & Makeup Supervisor for the Blue Man Group show in Orlando.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
To be an actor, you need to sacrifice everything.
How I responded:
Ultimately, this ended up being correct. Being an actor is really difficult. In order to pursue it as a career, you do have to love it so much that you are willing to sacrifice a lot of things in order to succeed. I eventually started realizing that I wasn't as passionate about it as I needed to be, so I made the decision to go a different direction. Pursuing backstage work, costuming, makeup, etc. allowed me to still be involved in theater, but on a level I was comfortable with.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
Going from acting to costuming and backstage work wasn't a dramatic change, but making that decision was still a bummer even though I knew acting wasn't what I wanted to do in the long run. It was difficult to come to terms with the change.