For many, Broadway and the silver screen are elements of the wondrous but distant “big leagues.” On March 28, students had the opportunity to hear real experiences in the entertainment industry at a Conservatory workshop led by filmmaker Gary King (‘06) and actress Christina Rose.

After showing a trailer of their latest film How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song, in which Rose was the lead actress and King the director, writer, and producer, the duo began by recounting their journeys getting to where they are now.

“Gary is from Harker, and he’s been doing a lot of work in the theater business, and Christina also has done a lot of work in the business,” Stephan Pellissier (11) said. “I’ve really wanted to learn firsthand from people who have essentially gone from what I’ve been, from doing small-time to moving up the ladder.”

Although King loved cinema from a young age, he entered college hoping to become an accountant and earned a degree in Psychology. After a few unfulfilling years in Human Resources, however, he decided to follow his original passion.

“Back when I was Harker in the late 80s, I didn’t think filmmaking was a job,” King said. “I thought it was just like a dream, like something people in Hollywood do. I didn’t realize ‘Oh, no, you can actually, with technology today, just pick up a camera and make a movie as well.’”

Rose decided to pursue theater arts at a much earlier age. When she was a child, she had dreams of being a star but considered being a veterinarian a much more realistic option. As soon as she started auditioning for productions, however, she realized what she wanted to do and threw all her energy into improving her singing, dancing, and acting on stage.

“I think the biggest joy of being in the business is the fact that I’m passionate about what I do, and I get to do what I love every day, and I am so thankful for that,” Rose said.

Because King and Rose have lived and worked as professionals in the current entertainment industry, they were able to answer many questions that students had regarding the “real-life” business. They advised students to keep connections open and always persevere despite setbacks.

“We’ve said some of this to our students already, but it’s great to have it be reinforced from professionals working in the industry. That really helps,” Performing Arts teacher Jeffrey Draper said. “Then they heard some things that we haven’t dealt with as often because it’s what’s currently happening in the industry, and the industry has changed so much in just the last 10 years that there’s a lot of fresh, new information that the students can apply as soon as they get off college.”

When Rose and King asked the audience who among them knew they wanted to continue performing arts as their career, a few eager hands shot up in the air along with a couple tentative ones.

For Cordelia Larsen (9), the workshop strengthened her passion for musical theater but also alerted her to the entertainment business’ competitive nature.

“It let me know that it’s just as tough as I thought it would be, but you really do need to have the talent,” she said. “It’s reinforced that I really do want to work on my talent, and make sure I have the abilities I need to have when I go out into the world and try to audition and try to be in shows.”

A common theme that the two presenters addressed was dealing with the setbacks that artists are bound to face in their careers.

“I think the biggest challenge in being in the industry is the fact that you do face a lot of rejection, and you have to get past that and be confident in yourself and know that you are good enough to keep going and never give up,” Rose said.

After visiting the Upper School since his time in the middle school, King was impressed by the way performing arts have developed and been encouraged.

“You have orchestras, you have all these different things in the arts—it’s amazing because to me, the arts are dying around the world in terms of just general schooling in public schools,” he said. “The fact that Harker can give these students the opportunity, and they’re talented in doing it, it’s very inspiring and it makes me so happy that the arts are going to be alive because of schools like this.”

At the end of the workshop, DVDs and soundtracks of their film How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song were handed out along with two tickets to watch it. The movie, which has won awards at venues such as the Raindance and Phoenix Film Festival, was shown at the AMC Saratoga 14 at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday.