“I’ve wanted to be an actor for as long as I can remember,” says Bryce Romero, ’15.
Because of the experience he got at UL Lafayette, theatre alum Bryce landed a role in 2014’s “The Maze Runner” before he even graduated. Since then, he’s appeared in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Logan,” and “FBI.”
He signed with his agent within his first couple years of studying. Since graduating, Bryce has moved to New York City, met his manager, and started booking bigger supporting and supporting lead side roles.
“I feel like I’m moving in the right direction,” he says. “Honestly, I just feel so lucky and blessed to have the support that I have and to have the opportunities that have been given to me.”
A New World
Although he grew up only watching actors in films and on television, Bryce decided to study theatre and get experience on the stage.
“I found a world that I never really knew about,” he says. “And I loved it, too! So, from that point, I decided that I would love to do film, television, and theatre.”
While at UL Lafayette, Bryce got extensive experience acting in multiple productions.
“I worked on ‘The Rabble’, ‘Clybourne Park’, ‘The Cherry Orchard’, and ‘Manual Not Included’ (a devised piece that we all helped create),” he says. He also performed in a production of An Evening of Dance with the dance department, which “was really fun and new for me!”
And after graduation, he came back for one more show.
“And the last thing that I worked on at UL Lafayette was a show after I graduated,” he says. “I was asked to join another devised piece that was going to be on second stage. It was called ‘For What It’s Worth.’”
Valuable Theatre Experience
While studying theatre, Bryce says he learned a lot that helped him get where he is today.
“I’ve learned how to read and try to understand scripts, how to ask questions and how to make choices in my performances,” he explains.
“The theatre program has given me the tools to bring myself and my thoughts and experiences to the work,” he says. “And I think that’s important. You’re really the only person in the world that can bring yourself to your work. No one else can do that. Also, in careers like this, you really just learn by doing it. And UL Lafayette gave me a place to just do it.”
The theatre program gave Bryce a safe, supportive space to challenge himself and grow his craft.
“UL Lafayette provided me a place to jump into something that I had never really done before,” he says. “It gave me a space and a group of people that allowed me to try something new. It gave me a place to challenge myself.
“It gave me a place to kind of fall flat on my face at times, but to realize that that was okay and that I could learn from those ‘failures.’ It’s okay to fail, as long as you keep going. And it’s better to go out on a limb and really go for something and risk failing than to just play it safe. The former is way more interesting and fun than the latter.”
Along with the experiences, Bryce says people in his program made it a valuable and memorable time for him.
“I met an amazing group of people. People that believed in me. People that supported me,” he says. “And I think that they know that I have just as much belief and support in them.
“I’ve met some of the friends that I’ll have for the rest of my life,” he says. “People that are just as big of nerds as me when it comes to film and theatre and creating things. And that’s pretty amazing. I know they’ll do some amazing things and I can’t wait to see it!”
