Mike Rose: Graduating Theatre Arts major prepares for Hollywood

Senior Theatre Arts major Mike Rose journeyed on a "Career Trek" with LMU's Career and Professional Development and came away from the experience with a paid casting internship with Bunim-Murray Productions - the producers of such reality-based fare as "The Real World" and "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."

Such an outcome is just the aim of Career Treks, which brings students into the workplaces of successful alumni, exposing them to potential careers and giving them the chance to network. Thus far, CPD has led two successful outings in L.A. and one in the Bay Area.

Mike, a native of Red Hook, New York, says that Career Treks: L.A. afforded him unique networking opportunities that ultimately helped him land his internship.

"It was great to see alumni with the same exact educational background doing what we aspire to do," Mike said, "seeing that it's possible to find work in the entertainment industry."

He says his two-month internship is set up as a sort of training program, with stand-out interns transitioning into full-time employees.

Aside from internship duties and his classes, Mike is a very active presence in the LMU arts scene, lending his acting, writing and vocal talents to numerous theater productions and musical organizations. Most notably, he is Assistant Director of the Frank Sinatra Workshop, which helps whip student vocalists into performance-ready shape.

Additionally, a short play he penned, "Falling from Floor 94," will debut at LMU's NewWorks Theatre Festival, April 27 - May 1, at the Barnelle Theatre. He wrote the play under the guidance of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and LMU Theatre Arts professor Beth Henley.

"It centers on two characters who had parents die on 9/11," Mike said. "They sneak up to the roof of the new One World Trade Center on the eve before it's set to open."

Before his final semester wraps, Mike is set to grace the LMU stage one last time for the Theatre Arts department's "Senior's Showcase," which gives a select group of graduating performers the chance to audition for agents and managers.

Mike says this type of rare opportunity is highly reflective of the LMU experience.

When originally searching for a college to attend, Mike says it was the LMU community and the opportunities offered that drew him in.

"The connections you make with the people at LMU are amazing," Mike said. "Most everything I have achieved over the past four years was facilitated through a particular experience with a classmate or professor."

So what advice does Mike have for incoming Lions?

"You will find that the road to success is often paved with good connections," Mike said. "The more involved you become at LMU, the more connections you will make."