Help Me Get Training To Be A Musical Theatre Performer

Hi, I'm Nana Sam, a 40 year old Ghanaian (West African) who dares to chase her dreams to become a fully trained Musical Theatre Performer.

Back Story

"Life begins at forty," they say. There might be some truth to that, as I have pushed the reset button on my whole life. For decades I run from fully exploring the performing arts because, in Ghana it is only seen as a pass time (a hobby) and not a career option. I left my "8 to 5" office job to venture into a career in the performing arts, to fully pursue monetizing my acting talents in film, theatre, voice acting, singing, commercials and fashion modeling. It's been financially difficult, due to the very poor pay and months of delayed payments for most work. To soften the financial blow, I moved back in with my parents who are both retired.

The American Academy Of Dramatic Arts

After turning 40 early this year, I decided to take a leap of faith and applied for a 2 year Musical Theatre conservatory program at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, to fully develop my skills as a performer. It is one of the oldest and elite theatre schools in New York. I thankfully got accepted and have been awarded with a Merit and Need-based scholarship, totaling $18,000. Unfortunately this is not enough to cover my tuition and accommodation for a year.

Breakdown Of Cost For The Academic Year: $63,448 (GBP48,293.60)

HELP!

The amount I am requesting is the total for my 1st Academic year which includes, a Tuition Deposit of $750, a Housing Deposit of $500, Visa fee of $510, and a plane ticket of $2,792 (estimate).

The Semester starts 9th January, 2025.

I need to complete payment latest by 20th October, 2024 to enable me apply and obtain a student visa before January 2025.

USA Visa applications can take up to 3 months to process and obtain.

Receiving funds that fully cater for my tuition, accommodation, other school expenses (books, and study supplies) would greatly lift the financial burden off me and help me fully focus, efficiently develop, and discover all my artistic abilities.

As an international student I will have the opportunity to work only 20 hours a week strictly on campus. This may help but, what I earn will be a far cry from what I need to stay afloat financially. With your generous help, my studies will not have to suffer from my divided attention to pay off student loans (if granted any) and living expenses.

Why?

This is only the start of a much bigger dream. A dream to help create a sustainable financial ecosystem in the performing arts in my country Ghana. A dream where the performing arts is respected as a career option and pursued by people of all ages in Ghana and Africa as a whole.

Final Plea

I honestly cannot do this without your help. I humbly request that you be part of my journey to success. Who knows, you could be supporting a future Tony Award Winner. Lets make history together by supporting an African woman's dream.

Follow My Journey

If everything falls into place you can follow my journey on my social media handles,

IG: nanasamgh

Tiktok: nanasamgh