Shaun Anthony | Life After Juilliard

Postcards From Juilliard Alums

I graduated in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, and that first year, my shows were cancelled, I got COVID, lost my side hustle, lost my apartment, packed my life into a storage unit, and moved in with family, which is the closest I’ve come to living inside of a Chekhov play. During that time I set up a self-tape studio in an abandoned preschool, making it especially easy to tap into characters dealing with any type of existential dread. I also proudly quit several languages on Duolingo (after the second tier—I’m not that lazy). Side note, I can still say hello in Valyrian. Despite the insanity, I signed with a great manager and have booked three co-stars on network and streaming television. I also remembered how much I enjoyed the Juilliard graduate playwriting seminar and wrote a full-length play and my wife and I co-authored a TV pilot, Never Been Better. I also did Zoom readings for festivals and companies, which helped scratch the itch while theater was dark.

In the last year, we’ve moved back to NYC into a beautiful apartment with a dishwasher, washer, and dryer (don’t be jelly). Auditions are steady, I’m getting good responses from casting, and I’ve gotten close to some big things onstage and in front of the camera. I’m still writing a ton, and working out like a boss. I’ve also seen some great shows—shout-out to The Skin of Our Teeth for putting a brontosaurus on stage. The existential dread has faded and I’m excited for the future again. The city feels different, but I’ll give it time. Now if we can just get this SCOTUS thing figured out, that would be great. Cheers.

Shaun Anthony (Group 49)