Getting a Start in LA via the Alumni Connection
Though he loves New England, Taylor Jorgensen ’15, who played the lead in the KSC Theatre and Dance Department’s production of Equus last year, knew that, in order to pursue an acting career, he’d have to go where the opportunities were. So he packed his bags and prepared to move from his Wilton, N.H., home to LA. But before he entered the great unknown, he contacted former TAD professor Ron Spangler, who put him in touch with Shane Nickerson ’94, actor and producer of various TV shows and co-owner of Superjacket Productions.
Nickerson kindly agreed to meet Jorgensen at his Superjacket office, ostensibly to offer his insight into beginning an acting career. “Not surprisingly, he had great insight on the matter,” Jorgensen reported. “He told me that though it would be a difficult journey, you have to enjoy it. Finding success in acting is not a path that has a destination. There’s no moment when you’ve ‘made it.’ It’s more like a continuous staircase where each step leads to another and another and another and it keeps on that way until you decide to get off. So, because there is no true endgame, suffering in your journey in the hopes of reaching one is futile. You need to love the work you do as you do it, otherwise what’s the point?”
Evidently, the newcomer impressed the seasoned actor, because Nickerson offered Jorgensen a bit of work. “At the end of our conversation Shane mentioned that they were shooting a pilot for MTV the following day and he could see about getting me in on it as a production assistant,” Jorgensen said. “Less than 24 hours later I was on set. There I was, a kid fresh out of New Hampshire working alongside professionals in the field. It was unreal.”
Once again, the fact that Keene State’s TAD program offers extensive experience in all aspects of theatre paid off. “The program at Keene State strives to create well-rounded theatre artists,” Jorgensen said. “If you’re an actor, you not only get an actor’s skill set, but to varying degrees you acquire those of a technician and dancer as well. I also worked for the Redfern Arts Center as a technical assistant throughout my time at Keene. Because of that, when the director of photography asked me to set up a C-stand, rig a light, and throw a red gel on it, I knew what to do.”
Nickerson offered to help because he remembers getting the acting bug at KSC and starting out on his own career—and romance. “Ron Spangler cast me in Little Shop of Horrors in the spring of 1993, and it set my life on an entirely new trajectory. I started dating my wife (Elisa Martin ’93) during rehearsals of that show, discovered a new passion, and built the confidence to pursue a career in entertainment. I can’t overstate this, if not for Ron taking a chance on a relatively unknown fourth-year student, I would not have the life I have now. I owe Keene State my career. … When Ron reached out to let me know he had a student moving out here to begin his journey, I was more than happy to help.”
