Catching Up with Spring 2019 Study Abroad Alumni

Tisch Special Programs offers study abroad opportunities in eleven locations around the globe during the academic year, January Term, and in the summer. We recently caught up with two students who studied abroad with us last spring.

Cat Heinen, a Drama major, spent her semester training in Berlin through the Stanislavski, Brecht, and Beyond program. A rising senior, Cat describes her experience in Berlin and how it’s motivated her to explore other acting studios and disciplines and imagine her future beyond graduation (and New York City).

Why did you want to study abroad?

I came to NYU because of the tremendous study abroad opportunities. I knew I wanted to go somewhere I knew nothing about, a place I could discover as my own. 

Why did you pick your particular program?

Stanislavski, Brecht, and Beyond is one of the two semester-long acting abroad programs, and it's much newer than RADA [Shakespeare in Performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London]. It's close in style to what the Experimental Theatre Wing might offer, and that's very different from the training I received at both Meisner and Stonestreet.

How did the location enhance the work you were doing there?

Everything we talked about in the classroom was present in the national, professional theatres. We were studying how the Third Reich influenced Berlin's theatre scene and then experiencing it first-hand. We read Brecht's plays and then saw them (in German!) at the Berliner Ensemble. We studied Epic Theatre in studio and then saw it demonstrated at the shows. Theatre in Berlin is wildly different from theatre in New York and I never expected to like it more than I do now. This program made me realize that you don't have to stay in NYC to make amazing theatre. 

How are you using/will you use techniques or skills you learned abroad in your work?

We did so much devised work that it inspired me to transfer to Playwrights’ [Horizons] for my senior year. Watching my fellow classmates who came from Playwrights’ and their ability to adapt as writers, directors, designers, and actors was inspiring. We studied Lucid Body technique in this program, which can only be taught by 12 different teachers internationally! It's a movement style that easily helped me deep dive into character work and provided many exercises which I will continue using. 

The staff at NYU Berlin, and particularly this program, care for the students in a way I've never experienced in New York. You're learning a new language, intensively studying Epic Theatre, and are constantly in studio -- it's natural to get overwhelmed at some point. But we were never condemned for needing a break and were always encouraged to take care of ourselves.

"I have the capacity to be a multi-hyphenated artist. I love working in ensembles. I am an artist, and will always be a student."

How do you think your study abroad experience will shape future projects or career choices?

Everything about my artistry has been changed by the things I learned this semester. I've been opened up to international connections, some of which are keeping me in Berlin for the summer for work. I consider Berlin a viable location to live post-grad, whereas before I never thought I'd leave New York. 

Because of the acting classes we took, I'm easily and healthily able to get in and out of character, and leave my scene work at the door. I want to continue learning about devising, a skill I never thought I could possess. I never thought I'd be capable of being in Playwrights’, and yet I'm transferring there strictly because of my experiences in the Stanislavski, Brecht, and Beyond program. I can never say enough good things about this program.

What was special about the location where you studied abroad?

Berlin is a city in development, a multicultural artistic haven that's still finding who and what it wants to be. It's special to be a part of that, even to just watch it happen.

What did you learn about yourself while studying abroad?

I have the capacity to be a multi-hyphenated artist. I love working in ensembles. I am an artist, and will always be a student. I have good ideas! And it's important to kill your darlings when making work with other people. Everything is for the sake of the piece.

While many Tisch majors take advantage of the study abroad programs we offer, they are also available to NYU undergraduates and non-majors. Matthew Tan, a Philosophy and Film sophomore at NYU Abu Dhabi, took part in Documentary Video Production in Havana this spring. Here’s what Matthew had to say about his experience in Cuba:

"The sense of community that characterizes the Cuban people, and their willingness to share, makes the country the most amazing place to make documentaries." 

Why did you want to study abroad?

As an NYU student, I felt it only made good sense to take advantage of the wide range of global sites the institution has to offer. I knew studying abroad would give me the opportunity to immerse myself in a wholly different culture from that of my home, and Havana was also the ideal place given my particular interest in the Latin-American region. 

Why did you pick your particular program?

As I am primarily a philosophy major, I wanted my sophomore spring to be a break from philosophy, allowing me instead to focus on filmmaking. This was my main reason for enrolling in this program. Having previously worked mostly in narrative filmmaking, I'd had little exposure to documentary, and felt that this program was well-suited to my desire to grow creatively as well as culturally.

How did the location enhance the work you were doing there?

Cuba has a rich cultural landscape filled with many unexplored stories. Given the present global political climate, I find Cuba's socio-political perspective very muted particularly in contrast to that of the United States. With intermittent internet connection, the people's voices are rarely heard on the international stage, and this meant that as foreign filmmakers, not only did we have the privilege, but also the honor, to tap into so many unheard stories and to tell them in a way that faithfully sheds light on the locals' socio-economic struggles. The sense of community that characterizes the Cuban people, and their willingness to share, makes the country the most amazing place to make documentaries. 

How are you using/will you use techniques or skills you learned abroad in your work?

This semester, I learnt a great deal about camera and sound equipment, which are key skills that will inevitably be applied when crewing on future film sets, be it documentary or narrative. In the process of directing my two documentary shorts, I feel I have developed resilience and confidence to lead in a smarter and more effective way. So much of documentary relies on emotionally connecting with subjects and crew members in order to make things happen, and I believe I will put these soft 'people skills' to good use in any work context that I will be in. 

"I find documentary to be a very exciting art of improvisation, and after this program, I feel a lot more confident about the possibilities of spearheading my own film projects, be they documentary or narrative."

How do you think your study abroad experience will shape future projects or career choices?

I had always been certain about pursuing a career in narrative filmmaking, but after having learned about the process of documentary, it is now a field I am also considering as a next step. I find documentary to be a very exciting art of improvisation, and after this program, I feel a lot more confident about the possibilities of spearheading my own film projects, be they documentary or narrative.

What did you learn about yourself while studying abroad?

Going to Havana with a fresh lens and without any expectations, I began to realize a few weeks into the program how necessary the seclusion was for me to think and to grow without the distractions of the 'real world'. The break from social media made me realize how much more focused I could be on my projects, and I learnt about how much I could benefit from an intensive program where our primary focus was just documentary filmmaking. I inevitably found many of my habits changing, and realized how important my Spanish-speaking skills were in letting me access and learn from the local culture. In regards to the creative side of the experience, I learned that there were many things I liked about the documentary process more than that of narrative filmmaking, and it has given me a clearer idea of the path I hope to pursue in the future. 

What was special about the location where you studied abroad?

Unlike most global sites, the documentary program in Havana consists of only a small cohort of students. We had a total of eight collectively living in the same accommodation and doing the same classes for the entirety of spring. This meant that we got to form extremely close bonds with each other in our collective growth not just in regards to filmmaking but also in our process of adapting to the local culture and lifestyle. To my understanding, while so much happens in Havana, there are also many aspects of it that are rooted in the past, from the old buildings to vintage cars. Without regular internet connection, it was a very surreal experience living in such an environment so different and secluded from the rest of the world, and it made for a very interesting cultural and documentary journey.

We are currently accepting applications for spring 2020 study abroad programs. Visit our website to find out more and to apply. The application deadline is Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 5:00PM ET.