Maya Fortgang is a Jersey-born BFA musical theatre grad who turned a COVID-disrupted college journey at Ithaca into a launchpad for her artistry and growth. From dance classes across New Jersey and New York City to studying scene work with Neil Matarazzo, she shares how staying a lifelong student keeps her grounded in an unpredictable industry. In this episode, Maya joins Aggie and Mak to talk about building community after graduation, finding your people in rehearsal rooms and acting classes, and why there’s no single “right” path to a creative career. She also reveals the spontaneous dinner that led her to The Music Man, what it’s like coming in as a postgrad among younger performers, and the non‑verbal teamwork that makes performing together so electric.

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Maya Buffomante (2026) is one of this summer’s newest performers at The Music Man on the Jersey Shore. From her arts-focused childhood in Naperville, Illinois to discovering her path at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Maya shares how she pivoted from pre-law and journalism to a life in theatre and acting.

Maya talks about growing up in a racing family, cheering on her brother as he competes in Trans Am and even making his NASCAR debut, and how that high-octane world shaped her love of travel, family, and risk-taking. She then opens up about the whirlwind year after graduation—directing children’s theatre, performing in a new musical workshop, and ultimately building a PowerPoint pitch to convince her parents to let her move to New York City to audition professionally.

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Ellie Parish (2026), a graduating Viterbo BFA musical theatre major, shares how she’s trading Spokane, Washington for a future onstage—chasing her dream of building a performing life along the New Jersey/New York coast. She reminisces about Zips burgers, Christmas in Spokane, starring as Molly in “The Mousetrap,” and helping create a Student Theater Project production of “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals,” all while looking ahead to making the East Coast her new artistic home.

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