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Hello, my name is name is Michelle Ogden and I am a junior here at Western Illinois University studying
Musical Theatre. I am a BFA. I am from Tuscola, Illinois. And one of the reasons I chose to come here
to Western to get my BFA in Musical Theatre is because when I first visited I fell in love with all of
the staff and the faculty here in the department. Everyone was so incredibly nice and helpful and I
could really feel like they wanted me to succeed. They were out to get me. And the audition I did here
was the best college audition I have ever done. It was very low key. Very fun and I could tell that
they only wanted to help me grow and get better. Another thing I love about Western is their focus on
the individual. I am in a lot of upper division classes since I am a junior here and it has very small
numbers in the class and that means we get one-on-one time with the professor. And that is a really
great thing, especially when you are in acting classes and you get to experiment. And even while I was
a freshman and sophomore I got that individual attention which was awesome! Another thing I love about
Western is the opportunity you get right from the get-go to start acting. Start performing. Start doing
what you want to do. You don't have to wait until you are a sophomore or junior to start performing
on the stage. You can audition right away. You can start designing and being involved. That is another
thing about Western that is awesome! You can be involved in everything. They want you to be! They
want you to experience/experiment and be a part of everything! One of my recent experiences: I was
in one of the main stage shows, All My Sons, and I also did a studio show called Romeo and Juliet. I
was the assistant stage manager. And I have never done assistant stage managing and it was one of
the best experiences that I have ever had. And thanks to Western I got to do that this last semester.
So that was really fun. And I totally recommend coming here to Western's Theatre Department because
it is a great learning place and I know that whenever I go out into the future I will use everything
that I have learned here. Thank you!