Lakeside School

by Annapoorani L. ’29

Julian Mudge-Burns opted for an unusual path among the typical prestige-aimed Lakeside students: He’s working toward a BFA in drama at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). It’s a small conservatory program, where a typical day is two hours of liberal arts classes followed by core arts training for the next seven in various theater-related disciplines and then three hours of rehearsals for productions. That rigorous approach was the attraction.

I believe that pursuing an education in acting is fulfilling because every day I get to delve into the vast well of the ever-dynamic human condition. — Julian Mudge-Burns ’23

With encouragement from his drama teachers at Lakeside, Mudge-Burns began auditioning for BFA programs, originally intending to hedge his bets and double major. His sights narrowed when he discovered UNCSA’s intense program focused on developing the whole artist. Now, he spends his days full of training and rehearsals, and he’s convinced he’s on the right track — especially after having studied classical drama at the British American Dramatic Academy Midsummer Conservatory at Oxford this past summer. Looking ahead, the third-year student would like to take an active role in creating his own works, perhaps starting a theater company with actors from his current cohort or writing and directing his own plays.