BFA Musical Theatre Dream
Donation protected
Dear Family, Friends and Supporters of August Bagg,
I’ve been a dear longtime friend of the Bagg Family and a huge fan of August, witnessing his growth, passion and talent for musical theatre. For the last four years, I’ve attended every show August has performed in at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) and his talent has blown me away. My dad, John McMartin, was a successful Broadway actor. Theatre is a world I grew up in and one I’m very familiar with. I see in August that he has not only the talent but all the makings to do this professionally.
For college August chose to audition/apply for BFA Musical Theatre programs. I’ve had many conversations with him this past year about his college journey and I was stunned to learn how difficult this process is and how many steps are required for those who want to pursue a BFA in college. It is truly a huge accomplishment to receive the number of acceptances August has been offered into these highly selective programs. For those who are unaware, these programs have an incoming freshman class of only 10-20 musical theatre students! August worked incredibly hard and I am so proud of his great success.
Even though August qualified for a Pell Grant, which demonstrates his high need for financial aid, both the BFA programs/Universities he’s been accepted to (many of which are public) do not have the funding or offer scholarships to meet his need and have left a very large gap between what they’ve offered and the actual cost of attendance.
In creating this GoFundMe page, my hope is we will find people willing to donate money to cover the tuition gap for August’s four years of college. That said, I feel it is important for you to hear directly from him…
“Many of you have followed my journey (via my mom’s social media accounts I’m sure) through the college audition process for BFA programs. I am proud to say that I have received acceptance offers from six BFA Musical Theatre programs, which if I can brag for one second, is pretty impressive because most of these schools have a 2-4% acceptance rate—step aside Stanford. ;)
None of the schools I have been accepted to have offered me the financial aid that I need to attend. As many of you also know my Dad passed away 5 years ago after a nasty battle with ALS. He was the sole provider for our family and since his passing my family has struggled financially. My Mom cannot qualify for a loan to supplement the remaining costs of these programs after the little aid I have received.
My dream is to be on Broadway and a BFA in Musical Theatre is crucial in helping me achieve that dream. It bums me out to feel like the arts can only be pursued by those who have money.
Thank you all so much in advance.
P.S. I am including a link to a short video of me performing in case anyone needs a little more proof of my talent ;)”
It breaks my heart to see this beautiful, talented young man, who has had relentless determination and is so clear about what he wants to do with his life not be able to take a spot that he rightfully earned.
Please join me and donate what you can to make August’s dream a reality. He only has until May 1 to commit to his BFA program, so please share this with others and post it so we can make this happen for him!
Thanks for considering this great cause,
Kathleen McMartin
I’ve been a dear longtime friend of the Bagg Family and a huge fan of August, witnessing his growth, passion and talent for musical theatre. For the last four years, I’ve attended every show August has performed in at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA) and his talent has blown me away. My dad, John McMartin, was a successful Broadway actor. Theatre is a world I grew up in and one I’m very familiar with. I see in August that he has not only the talent but all the makings to do this professionally.
For college August chose to audition/apply for BFA Musical Theatre programs. I’ve had many conversations with him this past year about his college journey and I was stunned to learn how difficult this process is and how many steps are required for those who want to pursue a BFA in college. It is truly a huge accomplishment to receive the number of acceptances August has been offered into these highly selective programs. For those who are unaware, these programs have an incoming freshman class of only 10-20 musical theatre students! August worked incredibly hard and I am so proud of his great success.
Even though August qualified for a Pell Grant, which demonstrates his high need for financial aid, both the BFA programs/Universities he’s been accepted to (many of which are public) do not have the funding or offer scholarships to meet his need and have left a very large gap between what they’ve offered and the actual cost of attendance.
In creating this GoFundMe page, my hope is we will find people willing to donate money to cover the tuition gap for August’s four years of college. That said, I feel it is important for you to hear directly from him…
“Many of you have followed my journey (via my mom’s social media accounts I’m sure) through the college audition process for BFA programs. I am proud to say that I have received acceptance offers from six BFA Musical Theatre programs, which if I can brag for one second, is pretty impressive because most of these schools have a 2-4% acceptance rate—step aside Stanford. ;)
None of the schools I have been accepted to have offered me the financial aid that I need to attend. As many of you also know my Dad passed away 5 years ago after a nasty battle with ALS. He was the sole provider for our family and since his passing my family has struggled financially. My Mom cannot qualify for a loan to supplement the remaining costs of these programs after the little aid I have received.
My dream is to be on Broadway and a BFA in Musical Theatre is crucial in helping me achieve that dream. It bums me out to feel like the arts can only be pursued by those who have money.
Thank you all so much in advance.
P.S. I am including a link to a short video of me performing in case anyone needs a little more proof of my talent ;)”
It breaks my heart to see this beautiful, talented young man, who has had relentless determination and is so clear about what he wants to do with his life not be able to take a spot that he rightfully earned.
Please join me and donate what you can to make August’s dream a reality. He only has until May 1 to commit to his BFA program, so please share this with others and post it so we can make this happen for him!
Thanks for considering this great cause,
Kathleen McMartin
Organizer and beneficiary
Kathleen McMartin
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
August Bagg
Beneficiary
