Having just been invited to an esteemed American University to get her master's degree in acting, Larica desperately needs some help to get a plane ticket and enough money to keep her dream alive. Here's why:



A South African actor with a BIG dream
I’m going to try to keep this as short and minimally-soppy as possible because, let’s face it, we’ve all got things to do. I realize that this may come across as somewhat conceited but I want to give assurance that creating this campaign is a last resort and has taken a lot (seriously… A LOT) of courage.

So is this just another story of a small town girl with a dream of being on Broadway someday?

Well, I don’t like to think that I fit that stereotype… but I probably do. There’s a bit more to my story though so perhaps you should decide for yourself.

I was born in the culturally-vacant city of Pretoria (a city not really renowned for its focus on drama or the arts but rather brandy and rugby), an unlikely setting for the birth of an aspiring performer. My older brother and I were lucky enough to be brought up by one of the most courageous and committed single mothers on this planet who had also wanted to be an actor when she was my age. However, due to the length of her lot and having no support from her family for this “off-the-beaten-track” career choice, she tucked her dreams away without complaint and picked up a series of jobs to help keep her little family afloat. Throughout my 25 years of life, she has never let me forget the value of my dreams and their role in my happiness and success. And so my love for the stage could be thanks to my mother’s influence or maybe it’s just woven into my genes.


I acknowledge whole-heartedly that I am one of the lucky ones in my country as I was able to go to a respectable school in Pretoria and get a great education. I am also privileged that my father helped me fund my studies so that I could attain an undergraduate degree in drama from the University of Cape Town. However, none of this happened without problems, difficulty or debt and, with no self-pity intended, I cannot remember a time where my mother wasn’t worrying herself from day to day as electricity, education and medical bills threatened to scuttle her dreams for us. So even after four years of personal toil and dedicated training at drama school, I still wasn’t convinced that I could actually bring the life that I’d always imagined to reality. So, with the thick skin my mother gave me and some (wavering) confidence, I decided that I had to take the next step in my career and even though I had no clue what the next step was, I knew it would be one of the most difficult things I had ever done.



The next step:
As with all things, I knew my dream would cost money- something that actors fresh out of varsity don’t find too easily- so I moved to Johannesburg and picked up two jobs (plus an additional ‘job’ of being an actor, endlessly trying to fit in castings/auditions). I battled with a lack of time, mounting pressure, existential torment and the absolute horror of working at a desk or driving other people’s kids to their hockey matches. So one day, I had one of those cathartic “I am the ruler of my own fate” sort of moments and realized that, regardless of how impossible it feels, I couldn’t keep blaming my circumstances for my inability to achieve my dream; I needed to make some serious changes and become an actor rather than a marketer/au pair/actor. So, after a year of saving enough (barely enough) money, I paid for applications to some of the top drama schools in the world who offered a master’s degree  in acting (MFA). This then led me to my next obstacle- the auditions. Thanks to some seriously hard work, prudent saving and assistance from some cherished friends, parents and family, I managed to pay my fare and gather some pennies for my seven week survival in New York City filled with regular, gruelling auditions. It was terrifying and exhilarating and I was forced to scrape together every little particle of self-belief that has ever existed within me to walk through those doors and perform alongside the world’s best candidates. I didn’t actually have a plan for how I would pay for any of the schools if I were to be accepted but frankly, I didn’t believe I would actually make it in anywhere. I think I just wanted to see how far I could actually stretch myself to beat back the doubts that had always tied me down.

 
So why get my masters when I can get straight into the South African theatre industry? Why America?

 Well firstly, is there even a South African theatre industry?! Without sounding utterly pessimistic and even though we have an incredible amount of talent amongst performers and theatre-makers in this country (and we really do), there just isn’t enough  support of the arts from our population or government for it to qualify as an industry. This truly is a pity and I do hope that over time, our wonderful nation realises our cultural wealth and that the South African theatre industry finally has the strength and reach it has always needed. You see, I have always wanted the stories that I have embodied on stage to reach far beyond my own community and, if I was to have this kind of international influence, I would need to be somewhere where acting and performance is passible (and possible) as a career rather than a part-time job or a hobby. I would need to fulfil my childhood dreams and become a player in the theatre worlds of America or the UK.


After setting foot on that foreign soil (which was one of only two times I have ever left the big rock of Africa) and experiencing the magnificence of the New York City theatre scene, I was inspired. There is a passion, appreciation and understanding of the importance of the arts in America which would seem alien in South Africa (let alone my hometown of Pretoria). Every day I spent in America reminded me of how much I would miss my homeland and its people but every day reminded me that my dreams were so much closer there; and the auditions may have even brought them within reach. I honestly didn’t expect much to come from the auditions - other than suffering from mild (who am I kidding, more like severe) panic-attacks - but then I was surprised… and then amazed… and then absolutely shocked.

I was called back for a second audition at every school I auditioned for and ended up on the final waiting list at Columbia and then at Yale which is arguably the best acting school in the world. Naturally, I was extremely disappointed that I hadn’t made it all the way and was ready to come home empty-handed with a bucket-load of new experience. But then I got the call from the University of San Diego’s Old Globe wanting me to join them for the next 2 years to do my MFA. I then found out that I had been offered a full tuition scholarship and would be working alongside only SIX other actors who were chosen for the program. Somehow, I had managed to fight my way into the top 2% of their applicants. More importantly, I had fought against and actually beaten myself, my doubts and the opinion of myself and my choices that had plagued me from the beginning. It actually happened.

 

So now, I am one step closer to my dream and the only thing stopping me is not having the financial backing to get to the school gates and to keep myself alive whilst studying.

So, where is ‘the rub?’ (Shakespeare reference for ‘the problem’)

 Well, a few weeks ago my mother was retrenched from a company to which she had dedicated 15 hard-working years of her life in a sales job she didn’t enjoy (euphemism for ‘loathed entirely’) but it was the job which has helped her scrape through  until now. She is also now at an age where entering the job market is a particularly grim challenge, especially considering our extremely questionable economic climate.

The financial challenge in accepting this extraordinary opportunity to further my studies and hopefully one day play a part in the magnificent theatre industry in the USA is one that I will not be able to conquer on my own. Despite all the efforts and energy I am willing to, and have already, put into such an exercise, I too have not been able to pick up my previous jobs and have found it increasingly difficult to get everything together in time for the beginning of the program in August. Even once I arrive, I have been told that working part-time whilst studying is almost impossible due to the 6-day weeks and 12-hour days but I know that I’ll need to be resourceful in whichever way I can once I am there. I will need to be able to pay for rent, food, and all other living, visa and travel expenses for the next 2 years and unfortunately I am not in a financial position to achieve it and my mother’s difficulties far outweigh my own so at last, I have turned to you...  

 So here’s a breakdown of everything I’m working towards in the next few months:

 Urgent costs:
- Study visa;
- Flight to San Diego;
Semi-urgent costs:
- Study materials;
- Accommodation (rent);
Last on the list costs:
- Food and living expenses;
- Travel/transport expenses while in San Diego; and
- Struggling artist savings.
 
I’ve calculated that in total I would need around  $15000 to cover myself to get there and live for the first year whilst I figure out other ways of funding myself for the rest of my study time. I know this sounds like a massive amount of money (and it is) but unfortunately America is particularly pricey, especially when you’re spending South African Rand. And with the exchange rate going the way it is, I feel like even that much might be problematic after a few months.


Regardless of whether or not I achieve my monetary goals, I would never be able to thank anyone enough for any donation they’re willing to put through to help me grab hold of this incredible opportunity. You can honestly help change my life and for that, I would never be able to repay you!

Larica