This past year at Wagner College has been a whirlwind, but I’m halfway through my junior year. After taking off two years due to the pandemic and limited performance opportunities, I went back to Wagner College in the Fall of 2022. As a Music Studies major, most of my classes are music-based, and I’ve gotten to take some really fun courses this last semester, including Conducting and Orchestration. I’m looking forward to a Jazz Harmony class this spring, which will branch out from the typical music theory content. As well as music classes, I’ve also gotten to take a dance course every semester, so I’ve taken tap, jazz, and ballet. It’s been fun to explore all the different styles that make up musical theater. I’ve also taken some science classes, Astronomy 101 and Psychology 101 in the past year. I’ve continued to work on auditioning at school and have had several callbacks and audition processes, in person and online. Outside of school, I had a busy summer. I was so happy to return to the MV Playhouse’s outdoor amphitheater to play Sebastian in Twelfth Night. We were supposed to have a month-long run, but it was so popular it extended to five weeks. In August, I helped develop a new character at a workshop for a new play named Storyfied at the Playhouse. I also continued to work on-island. I’ve continued to advocate for transgender rights as more anti-trans laws are passed and we get closer to the election. I hope to try and educate people just by not hiding myself away. While personally, it was an emotionally taxing year, I’m extremely grateful that I got to go to college. It’s been a privilege to be able to do all this, and none of it would have been possible without MVYouth.
Jo Orr - Wagner College
This past fall I had the luck of going back to Wagner College after taking some personal time away from school. As a music studies major, I had the privilege of being in NYC as my peers and alumni friends started to audition and star in shows in the city and on campus. I got to see friends in shows on the Mainstage, Stage 1, and Gatehouse on campus, and shows and concerts in the city at 54 Below, Don’t Tell Mama, and off-Broadway. I auditioned and got a callback for the character Emma in “The Prom”, the Mainstage show for the spring semester. The audition experiences and professional connections I have gained at school are invaluable. Freshman year I was assistant director for Michele Pawk, a professor, director, and actor who is now off to play Madame Morrible in Wicked on Broadway for the next year.
I also juggled 8 classes, including music classes, choirs, psychology, and dance. While I liked the classes and the curriculum, what I really loved was hearing my professors, professional performers, tell us stories about shows they’ve been in and people they’ve met and danced with. There’s nothing better for the motivation of a dream than when you’re surrounded by people who’ve already done it. My private lessons continue to be my favorite class, as we continue to develop my instrument and transpose songs that are traditionally bound by the gender binary. To balance classes, performance opportunities, and rest, this year I prioritized my own mental health. After getting top surgery in the spring, I went into this semester still recovering, and I’m so happy now that I’m fully healed. I can focus on my classes and my goals for the future, and I’m so grateful to MVYouth for continuing to support me.
Jo Orr - Wagner College
After taking a gap year last year because of the way the pandemic was affecting my performance-based classes, I decided to wait to return to Wagner College until the fall of 2022. I needed to work on myself and I didn’t want to go back to college until I felt 100% myself. While I’m still on the Vineyard, I’ve been renting my own place—enjoying my independence—and working full time as a nanny to two children, which has been educational and entertaining in a world of less and less social contact.
While I miss being a full-time performer, I still have online voice lessons and rehearse, and I have been expanding my musical theatre repertoire. I’ve also been making new friends in the theatre industry online, and have been commissioned by several of them to create artwork. I am continuing writing my musical, and am also working on set design for Les Miserables at MVRHS, this year’s musical. While we don’t quite know how Covid will affect the performance, it has been great to be back working with the team. I’m looking forward to going back to Wagner, but in the meantime I have been teaching myself aerial arts at home, including Lyra and silks.
Jo Orr - Wagner College
After taking the second half of my spring 2020 semester online, I decided to take the fall 2020 semester off because of the impact of the pandemic on my performance-based classes at Wagner College. While I missed my friends and performing, I know it was the right choice for me. Instead, I stayed on Martha's Vineyard working as a nanny, which has been so rewarding, especially since I want to go into music education. Working with different age groups over the course of 2020 has taught me so much about child development and the role of music shifting in their life. While it's not the semester I thought I would have, I've been able to have independence that most don't have by age 19. I was able to stay in my own apartment, work on my craft alone, and branch out with artistic opportunities online. I've taken online dance and circus classes to keep me connected to my community, and to be ready to hit the ground running when the pandemic is over. I started my own Redbubble store to sell my art, and I've created over 600 art pieces since quarantine started. I had so much time to myself I even started to write a musical, focused on gender studies, which I'll continue to write at college with the help of some of my composer friends. As for next semester, I've already registered for 11 classes and am excited to be busy again. I'm looking forward to going back to Wagner College and getting back onto the track that MVYouth has been so generous to lay out for me.
Jo Orr - Wagner College
My first semester at Wagner College has been a fantastic whirlwind of new experiences. I finally got to focus on the core classes of musical theatre that I waited so long to take, while also expanding my boundaries by taking World Literature classes, French Culture studies, and more. I was honored to be accepted into three audition-only choirs, with which I've performed on-campus, in NYC, at church gigs, and even with a full orchestra in Summit, New Jersey. I am pleased to announce that I will be touring Italy this spring with the Wagner College Choir, performing in Venice, Florence, and ending in Rome by singing at the Vatican! I have also pushed forward with dance, by taking ballet, jazz, and doing frequent auditions in NYC for Broadway, cabarets, and masterclasses. These experiences have allowed me to create connections with people I never thought would even look my way. Out of school I am taking voice lessons with Marisa Michealson, vocal coach of Dave Malloy's shows, most commonly known for his Tony Award-winning show, Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. Balancing my schoolwork while also taking time to have new social experiences has been a challenge, but one of the extracurricular groups I'm most passionate about is OutWagner, the LGBTQ+ group on campus. Together, we've helped arrange a bus to the Washington D.C. Transgender March, raised money for the Trevor Project, and fought for more gender-neutral housing on campus (which we got!!). I managed to find friends who are just like me, but I also have friends who are nothing like me. It is nice to be surrounded by people with completely different perspectives, goals, and opinions, while everyone has an open mind and accepts each other with open arms. All my experiences this year would not have been possible without MVYouth. I am forever grateful for you believing in me.