Southeast business major Julia Brady co-owns theater company

Southeast Missouri State University freshman Julia Brady is only 19 years old, but she already co-owns her own theater company. On top of this, Brady holds an executive position with the Alpha Chi Omega sorority on campus and is a full-time student majoring in business. Her passion for theater shines through her personality.

Q: What is your company called and how did you start it?

A: First of all, when people think theater company, they think I actually own a theater, and it's more like a production company. So I put on the shows. It's called the County Players because it's out in St. Louis, and we didn't want to limit it to a certain target market. We didn't want to make it, like, Arnold Community Acting or something like that. We want to use it in any county. We can go anywhere we want to.

It started because I wanted to be a theater major, but my dad told me he wouldn't pay for college because I've always been in the business field. He said if I got a business degree that I would be able to open up my own theater. My dad says if I can do it in four years he will pay for all of it. I was like "No, I don't want that," and one of my friends was like "You know what, let's go into business together. Let's start a theater company." I was like "OK!" So I went over to his house one night, and it was like 8 o'clock at night and we probably talked about it until like 3 a.m.

Q: Have you done any shows with the County Players?

A: Actually, we just decided this last summer, and this summer is going to be our first show. We're going to do "Mid-Summer's Night Dream" by Shakespeare. It was in his time before he got real into the romantic plays. It's really mysterical. It has fairies and stuff in it.

Q: Have you already casted for the show?

A: Auditions are going to be in May. I just got my director under my belt. She actually directed me in "Romeo & Juliet" last summer. She is phenomenal, and she pretty much only does Shakespeare stuff so she offered to do it for me.

Q: How long have you been acting?

A: I started my freshman year of high school. I took a class, enjoyed it, and then my teacher told me I should go audition. I got the second lead girl role in the play as a freshman. So I was like "OK, maybe I'm an actor," and I kind of just started doing it. I actually did my first professional show last summer in "Romeo & Juliet," and I played Juliet in that production. That's how I actually met my co-founder, who player Mercutio. His name is Mark Neals. He's a professor at Lindenwood University, actually. I pretty much met a whole bunch of people. I met who would build my sets for me there, I met who would do my tech and music for me there. Just branching out and meeting these people made everything else a possibility.

Q: Since you're not going to college for theater, have you considered auditioning for shows at the River Campus?

A: Well, I can't sing, so it kind of limits me. I mean, I guess I can kind of keep a tune and do chorus, but I like straight plays better. I love watching musicals. They're so entertaining. I love all of the dance numbers, but I'm more of a straight play person.

I'm actually going to take a theater class next semester as part of my artistic university study and kind of get a feel of what they expect out of people because I'm really picky. I'm not going to lie. But I would love to do acting here. I'm in an executive position in my sorority, so it's been kind of hard to do it this year. I'm just trying to get the hang of things.

Q: How do you find time to do everything?

A: No sleep. [laughs] No, seriously, you know in college, you don't come to sleep. You come to work. You come to learn.

My parents expect a lot of me because I put a lot on my plate for them to expect, but I'm a busybody. I'm not one to sit around like "What can I do today," It's more like "How can I enhance myself and do something better with my life? How can I make my resume better? How can I make something of myself so I'm not just a name that nobody remembers? I want to be remembered when I'm older." So I just kind of balance things.

Q: It costs a lot to put on a production, how do you, as a college student, afford to put on a show like this?

A: St. Louis is a great place to start things like this because they offer grants for things like this. The minimum is five grand. If you don't pay your actors, and you find a decent work space, you can make it work. For instance, the theater we're trying to perform at is $250 a whole entire week, and that includes all of the lights and sound. That includes all of their sets. You can use their sets, you can use their props, and you have to pay them out of house earnings. So whatever you make in tickets sales is how you pay them. Well, $250 a week for two weeks is only 500 bucks for literally almost everything you'll need besides your scripts and your actors. If you make friends in the acting industry, and college kids love to keep busy, you can find actors that will do it for free.