From the Lennie and John de Csepel Theatre to the New York University (NYU) stage, senior Ila David’s deep passion for musical theatre inspires her beyond King Street. She will attend Tisch School of the Arts at NYU (NYU Tisch) in the fall, taking her to a new level of theatre education. Ila explained how her love for theatre influenced her to pursue it in college and described the unique application process for a performing arts major.
Ila has been singing and dancing since she was three years old, but she was too shy to become involved in musical theatre as a young child. In third grade, she joined her first school musical. She loved being on stage and continued in musical theatre from then on. After participating in elementary and middle school productions, she joined the theatre elective at Sacred Heart Greenwich in ninth grade. In this class, Ila has explored various components of theatre from Miss Michaela Gorman ’05, Upper School Theatre Teacher and Director of Upper School Theatrical Productions. Ila explained how this course amplified her desire to continue in theatre beyond high school.
“What I think is so special about the theatre elective is that you’re surrounded by such creative and passionate people,” Ila said. “Miss Gorman, especially, has had such a huge impact on my love for theatre. During the class, we learn about things like acting, playwriting, and theatrical production. As we have learned these concepts throughout the years, I have found so many aspects of theatre that I’m interested in outside of just performing.”
In addition to the theatre elective, Ila extended her participation in Upper School theatre through the fall play and winter musicals. Since her freshman year, Ila has performed in the musicals Annie, Into the Woods, Anastasia, and Newsies and has been on stage or tech crew for the plays The Eumenides, Our Town, and Frankenstein. Ila expressed her appreciation for her four years in the drama programs.
“The community in Sacred Heart theatre and the theatre elective have helped me grow so much,” Ila said. “Everyone is so encouraging and so welcoming. Whether you’re doing a play or musical or presenting a project in class, I always feel so supported and loved.”
The process for consideration as a performing arts major differs from a typical college application. In addition to submitting academic transcripts and supplemental essays, programs for musical theatre require prescreens and auditions for admission. Candidates submit prescreens or short clips of monologues, songs, and sometimes dance to determine if they will be moved on to the audition stage. If the school accepts the prescreen, students have the opportunity to audition for the school in person. These auditions usually occur in major cities with multiple applicants and schools in attendance to judge. After auditions, a candidate waits to hear if they have been accepted or otherwise and then chooses a college. Ila commented on her personal experience going through auditions.
“The process of prescreens, callbacks, and auditions was not easy,” Ila said. “I didn’t exactly know what to expect, so it was definitely very intimidating, but at the end of the day, you push through. As I was hearing ‘yes’ back from callbacks and getting those auditions, I was genuinely beginning to have a fun time, especially connecting with students from auditions.”
Despite this extensive process, Ila persisted and reminded herself of her passion and love for the arts. She explained why she chose to apply to the musical theatre program at NYU Tisch overall.
“A lot of people reiterated this message to me, but I knew that I wanted to do something in the future that I was passionate about, and this is the thing I’m most passionate about, more than anything,” Ila said. “Performing has been such an amazing way of relieving stress. It’s a form of enjoyment, a way to connect with my friends and my community. I just knew that this is something that I could see myself doing.”
Featured Image by Caroline Gammon ’26
