By Emma Lewis

Daniels working with Collegiate dancers this spring. Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

Taylor Daniels (‘10), a graduate of both Collegiate and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, started performing by taking ballet when he was very young, around five or six years old. He stuck with it, and in Upper School layered his dancing and performing on top of athletics and academics. He was a natural performer, but his Collegiate peers didn’t really get to see this side of him until he auditioned for his first musical in the Upper School. 

Daniels started Collegiate in Kindergarten, calling himself a “lifer.” He said that he had always performed, having participated in Richmond Ballet for years and singing in chorus, but kept it relatively separate from his school life until he auditioned for The Music Man his sophomore year. 

When Daniels auditioned for The Music Man, he surprised many classmates with his talent. He said that, “Everyone was very confused, because they’re like, ‘Why are you doing toe touches and stuff?’ And it’s like, ‘Cause I dance!’ But no one would know that, because why would they know?” He then participated in many more Collegiate productions, including performing as Romeo in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Jim in Roger Miller’s Big River, the musical based on the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

His time in Collegiate theater inspired him to pursue the arts as a career, and he went to NYU’s Tisch for their Musical Theater program. He got into the New Studio on Broadway. He explained that NYU Tisch has several different studios, in order to let as many students as possible into their theater programs. Other studios include Meisner Studio, Atlantic Studio, Experimental Theater Studio, and others. 

When describing his schedule at NYU, Daniels stated that it was essentially “a big challenge.” For all four years, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday he took his artistic courses from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.: “I’d have every class under the sun… different, insane exercises that, when spotlighted and taken out are kind of kooky…but it also totally ties in and incorporates to the practical parts of an audition.” His academic classes were on Tuesdays and Thursdays and consisted of mostly fundamental classes required for all NYU freshmen. Daniels recognized that the program was an arduous task: “The acting schools, they’re meant to push you and force you to think, and break down and rebuild yourself so you have the ability to do that on command.” 

Daniels in costume for Hamilton. Photo courtesy of Taylor Daniels.

When looking for a job after college, Daniels initially struggled. He said that while his schedule was much less rigid than when he was in college, it wasn’t easy to adjust. His first job was opening a gym at 4:00 a.m. Laughing, he said that he would try to go to sleep at 8:00 p.m. and wake up at 3:00 a.m., all while auditioning for shows. 

Daniels spent his last fall and winter after graduation working retail, opening the gym, and auditioning, until he booked his first tour and left New York. He was a dancer and ensemble member in a tour of the musical Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. While touring, he auditioned and later joined a tour of Broadway’s Cinderella. Daniels recently closed off the touring production of the incredibly successful Broadway show Hamilton. Unfortunately, this tour was cut short due to COVID-19 but started back up again when restrictions were lifted. He rode out the show until its end, and next, Daniels is participating in a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Daniels with fellow Hamilton cast members. Photo courtesy of Taylor Daniels. 

Most recently, Daniels has been helping out here at Collegiate, teaching dance classes and filling in for some of Upper School theater director Steve Perigard’s acting and Honors Theater courses.