By Ethan Walshe
Staff Writer

A senior’s choice for what to pursue after college is usually not an easy one. By their senior year they certainly have some notion of what they want to pursue in their lives, but the choice is not always an easy one. This year, three Westford Academy seniors made the choice to pursue theater arts and acting at the college level. These students are John Manning, who will be attending the University of Connecticut, and Teresa Langford and Caleb Cedrone, who will both be going to Boston University this coming fall.

These three students have been involved in Westford Academy Theater Arts for many years, starring in a number of main stage productions including Cedrone as the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera, Langford as the Bride in Blood Wedding and Manning as Billy in Chicago. All three were named to the all-star cast at this year’s state festival for their roles as Casca, Cassius and Brutus respectively in J. Caes.

The three soon-to-be college students will each be attending conservatories, which will consist of very small classes of between 12 to 20 students from all around the country. The fact that the incoming class from a national pool of applicants at BU will consist of two students from WA is “very impressive” describes theater arts teacher Michael Towers. “I’m very proud of them,” he said.

They have all made a life and career choice that will be very difficult to continue with for their entire lives. This is because when someone is involved in theater arts or film on the career level, there isn’t consistency in terms of paychecks.

“In the entertainment business, it’s not about how hard you work, and that’s a very difficult thing. We’re taught all of our lives and it is reinforced that hard work will determine success. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in the entertainment business,” said Towers. “Although I’m certainly incredibly supportive and happy when a student makes a bold choice to pursue a career in the arts.”

These students have been prepared by their experiences in WATA for what lies ahead of them. Over the course of their careers at WA, they have been involved in anywhere between 15 and 30 production teams, read dozens of plays and seen even more. They are amongst some of the most well-read and well-prepared students from around the country, according to Towers.

“I’m definitely ready,” said Cedrone. “Prepared to do this for life? I don’t know… [But] I know that I have a want and an urge to be trained in such a well renowned school.”

The fact that three students from Westford Academy have made this choice is about average for the school, usually producing anywhere from two to four theater major students a year. As said before, two of these students will be going to the same college.

“If [there] were many more [of us] I would be scared to be lost amongst ‘those WA kids’,” said Cedrone.