Commencement weekend. Some 麻豆原创 graduates will head into backyards to celebrate with family and friends. Some will board planes to take long-awaited escapes. But eleven graduates will travel across Orlando to Universal Studios, which for them is a bridge from the completion of their master鈥檚 degrees into a world beyond school 鈥� and maybe beyond reality.
鈥淚t makes perfect sense for this group,鈥� says Alex Marcello 鈥�14 of the entire cohort from 麻豆原创鈥檚 inaugural themed experience track, which happens to be the only program of its kind accredited by the National Association of Schools Theater. 鈥淲e entered the program so we can design theme parks and bring stories to life for people just like us.鈥�
You鈥檇 think Marcello had all the perspective she needed before joining the program in 2019. She already worked at Universal, first as a show coordinator and then as assistant manager of intellectual property. It鈥檚 natural to wonder if an untested master鈥檚 track would be worth her time.
鈥淚f I could go back three years and show myself the portfolio I鈥檝e built through this program, it would blow my mind,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 had no idea of the possibilities it would open to us.鈥�
Marcello鈥檚 classmate, Jordan Zauha, echoes her wonder. 鈥淭he program gave me exactly what I needed: a new beginning.鈥�
From Cornfields to the Big Apple to 麻豆原创
Zauha grew up in the heartland of Nebraska. His high school senior class totaled 41 students. He studied musical theater at Nebraska Wesleyan, which provided him the opportunity to perform in 25 stage productions while earning a degree.
鈥�Glee was a thing at the time,鈥� says Zauha, who turns 30 in July, 鈥渁nd Broadway was the goal for anyone in theater.鈥�
Ten days after accepting his diploma, Zauha moved to New York. He worked in restaurants, stood in line for auditions as early as 5:45 a.m., and tried to make the story he imagined come to life. It didn鈥檛 take long for him to go broke.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the reality for a lot of young adults who love theater and chase the dream,鈥� he says. 鈥淎 friend of mine said it best: 鈥楴ew York is not what we imagined. This is not a city where experimenting will go well for us.鈥� I began to question the entertainment industry and whether I鈥檇 ever have a place in it.鈥�
Zauha did some research and saw that regional markets were open to new ideas, new art, and new people. Orlando was one of those places. He鈥檇 been to Orlando as a seven-year-old when his dad took him and his grandmother to Disney World. He vividly remembers entering the gates, walking down Main Street, and believing he鈥檇 truly entered a different world. When he asked how it could all be possible, his dad said, 鈥淧eople created this.鈥�
鈥淲hen he said that, I started thinking about a group of people creating this living story for others to enjoy,鈥� he says. 鈥淎fter I moved to Orlando almost 20 years later, certain moments triggered that memory.鈥�
The most important moment happened while Zauha helped a customer in a clothing store where he worked. The man鈥檚 shirt depicting Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas and his Disney Visa card became the conversation starters. The man said his name was Peter Weishar and that he was about to start a new master鈥檚 program at 麻豆原创 in themed experience.
“The … Themed Experience (program) was designed to educate and train the next generation of creative leaders in the themed entertainment industry,” says Weishar, a professor and director of 麻豆原创’s themed experience graduate programs. “Themed experience is more than theme parks. It is utilized in exhibitions, museums, zoos, retail, dining, libraries and can be applied to almost any compelling space designed to convey a story. There could not be a better fit for this program than at 麻豆原创, located in the heart of the themed entertainment industry.”
From the very first week, students rethought whatever they believed about theme parks. Adjunct faculty shared stories about the nuances of design, the creative processes that few people will ever know about, and the people required to turn fiction an actual experience.
鈥淭here鈥檚 also a rule of thumb,鈥� Zauha says, 鈥渢hat if you want to create themed places, then you have to immerse yourself in them yourself.鈥�
He took a notebook whenever the class went to food truck gatherings or themed restaurants or the parks. He鈥檇 write about facades and architecture 鈥� the subtleties that opened his eyes wide as a 5-year-old, but later faded into the periphery of his tunnel vision to be an entertainer. The idea of actually creating an immersive narrative like a Harry Potter Experience or Super Nintendo World electrified him.
鈥淭he program has given me assurances that there鈥檚 a place for me in this industry,鈥� says Zauha, who already has multiple job offers. 鈥淚 have a peace about my future that I didn鈥檛 have three years ago.鈥�
Creating the Rest of Her Life
Marcello has always wanted what so many kids and grown-ups want: to make pretend places come to life. Growing up, she and her friends played the The Legend of Zelda and fantasized what it might be like in a real-life theme park.
鈥淚t was a dream of mine to explore Hyrule in real life,鈥� Marcello says. 鈥淚 still wish it existed.鈥�
She developed a talent for art and hoped one day to build a career around it. After earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree from 麻豆原创 in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis on art administration, Marcello landed a job at Universal Creative.
鈥淚 had no idea I鈥檇 fall in love with the industry and the collaborative environment,鈥� she says. Marcello worked with a team that helped build Universal Beijing and she could see a clear career path in creative project management. But something kept tugging at her.
She鈥檇 always known she was an artist. Deep down she wanted to be the one who started with an empty blue sky, sketched out concepts, painted props and facades and made it possible for people to spend an entire day in an imaginary place. To do that, she needed to learn from people who have done it and she needed to build a portfolio.
鈥淭he themed experience program came along at just the right time and place,鈥� Marcello says. 鈥淧eter has the credentials. The vendors who do a lot of the art are right here. We toured private creative studios that work directly with the parks, companies that are crucial in the process but that we wouldn鈥檛 know existed if we hadn鈥檛 seen them for ourselves.鈥�
In the coming months, Marcello, Zauha, and the rest of the first themed experience cohort will begin to weave their childhood imaginations into actual experiences for future theme-park guests. 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 as impossible as we once thought,鈥� Marcello says. 鈥淏ut for now, we鈥檙e just going to enjoy a weekend at the park.鈥�
