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Anthony Veneziale Highlight
The hardships make the wonderful times that much more wonderful, but they also turn you into who you are. It's not when you're at the top of the world that defines who you are-it's when you're at the bottom.
About Anthony
- Double-majored in film and American history at Wesleyan University. Moved to New York with no job and nothing but a mattress and $200.
- Warns that unless you have a job handed to you-and most don't-it's going to be hard for a while after you graduate college.
- Eventually some of his friends joined him, and they started a production company called Back House Productions.
- They rented out a basement below a bookshop, turned it into a black box theater, and began producing plays.
- He says the key to developing his production company was getting out there and networking, talking to as many people as he could.
- Their breakout play was In the Heights, which was a hip-hop/rap musical. The play's unique voice took it to Broadway, and it later won four Tony Awards, including "Best Musical."
- Created a show called Freestyle Love Supreme, which performs live, does education outreach, and is in development for television.
- Believes that everyone can freestyle rap-you just have to give yourself permission to tap into yourself and find the words.
