For Maya McCall, it’s not so much the destination (he’s open for anything), but the journey—one with twists and turns, two colleges, and three countries:
“You know transferring schools and changing majors multiple times is a lot of work and it’s a lot of money, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I think this is the path that I was meant to go on and that this was the school for me to go to. And I’m very happy and excited that I get to graduate from here.”
The journey began in Wilmington, NC where McCall grew up as the only child of schoolteacher parents who loved sports:
“It was a sports household, so I was a sports kid. Sure, I did choir and took some dance classes, but the arts were never the center of my life. When I was twelve, our family moved to South America. The summer before we left the country, I went to an arts camp. We put on The Wizard of Oz and that was the moment I realized I wanted to do theatre. It had a huge impact on me.”
McCall lived in Brazil for two years and then Colombia for four, still participating in sports but doing more theatre and had his heart set on following in his parents’ footsteps. When it came time for college, the family moved back to North Carolina where McCall enrolled at North Carolina State University as an Education major:
“My parents taught at every school I’d attended, and I knew from a very young age that I was meant to teach, too. I’ve always wanted to help people be their best selves and to help them find passion in something.”
For McCall, that passion turned out to be theatre, and while in Raleigh, he did some work with The Justice Theatre Project and the North Carolina Theatre Conservancy where he performed in Mean Girls—another pivotal experience:
“That was the moment that I decided that not only did I want to be a teacher, I wanted to teach theatre. So, I transferred to UNCG. It’s the best decision I could have made because I’ve been able to study what I love. The transfer process here has been so lovely, and everyone has been so welcoming. It made me feel like I’ve been here forever.”
McCall started UNCG as a Theatre Education major but decided to go broader with his studies and will be graduating with a BA in Drama and a minor in Technical Theatre:
“I’ve been able to study what I love, and I’ve been able to learn different things from all my majors. All of the professors here want you to do well and have a bright future. I feel so cared for in the School of Theatre:
“One of the opportunities I had that I really enjoyed is ‘Short Tales.’ It’s a production with Creative Greensboro where UNCG Theatre Education majors can direct or assistant direct. The plays are submitted by local writers, and you get to choose your play, cast the kids, then work with them to put on the play. It was fun and seeing the kids perform is one of the highlights of my time here.
“I also took a class called Drama in Education, where we went to an elementary school and taught kindergarteners using lesson plans that we had created.”
There were also performance opportunities for McCall. He was an ensemble member in the musical Side Show as a “roustabout” and understudy to several roles. He also played Ericka in the play School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play, which garnered multiple awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival:
“Being a part of that show was exciting, especially because it was an all-Black cast. Performing the role of Ericka was meaningful because I’m also a mixed-race kid, and I understand the struggle of not knowing exactly where you belong. I’ve had difficulties getting to know my dad’s family—he’s African American—and living abroad in primarily Latinx populations. But that’s also what made the role difficult. Because we’re so similar, I had to separate myself from her during the process. I discovered a lot about myself doing that show.
“Being a swing in Side Show meant understudying about ten roles. It was a lot of material to learn—lines and choreography. It really pushed me. It taught me a lot about how I want to help my future students challenge themselves.”
After graduating, McCall plans to move back to his hometown of Wilmington and work with community theatres and children’s theatre programs. He says he feels well equipped for wherever his career path takes him:
“I’m excited to dip my toes into a lot of things, but mostly with children’s theatre. I want to help children experience what I did when I found my love for theatre.
“One thing I really love about being a BA drama student is that you get to focus on so many different areas. You learn about costumes, hair, and makeup, and you get to take classes like lighting design, sound, and stage management. I’ve taken so many kinds of classes in technical theater and performance. That’s helped me create a well-rounded profile as a theatre educator.”
That’s one of the lessons he’ll share with his future students, and it’s his advice to current School of Theatre students, too:
“Do anything and everything. There are so many areas of theatre to try out and so many clubs and organizations outside of theatre. Try everything. You never know what you might fall in love with or what you might be really good at. By not limiting yourself, you’ll probably give yourself more career opportunities!”
Story by Terri W Relos
Photo credits: Elainia Sanders
