We’re so proud to announce that five from our Tribe have made their way to New York City! Not only that but they’re fully booked up! Look out, Big Apple, here we come!
Morgan
Morgan Gilmore took our complete track with Advanced Makeup, Art of Wig and Hair Design, and Special Effects and completed the programs in December of 2018. She immediately knew she “needed to get out and use all the amazing things [she] learned.” So, by January of 2019, she was in New York for an apprenticeship with Paul Huntley.
While working with Paul Huntley before he passed was an incredible experience of it’s own, Morgan says one of her favorite jobs was as the Assistant Wig and Makeup Designer for “The Wiz.” She was able to use every skill she had learned in school and had her hand in so many aspects of the show. While not currently working with any fellow AMUA Alumni, she has in the past! And says they have an ongoing group chat called “With the Big Wigs.” Morgan encourages us all by saying “we all start at the same theatres and jobs… So be nice and do your job. Any place that you don’t succeed in while doing that isn’t a place you want to be anyway.”
She says there are so many reasons to love the city and suggests “Pardon My French” in the East Village for their brunch, but if you’re not feeling French food, just hop on the train and you can find a different country’s cuisine the next station over!
Zack
Zack Lankford completed our Makeup for TV & Film and the Art of Wig and Hair Design in June of 2021 and quickly made the move to New York that following September. He took a shot by moving there without a job lined up but hit the ground running by networking every day and had a job lined up by October! Zacks tells us that “it is definitely true that showing up with a positive attitude and a desire to be involved plays a major part” in getting a job.
That networking lead Zack to work alongside Megan Burke and Jenny Ortiz, as well as AMUA instructor Loryn. He says that “every job has been amazing, but [his] favorite would be The Drag at Fordham University” where he had creative freedom as a hair and makeup designer. The main event was a 1920s drag ball! “I learned so much collaborating with wardrobe and instructing cast/crew the designs for the show.”
Zack says his favorite places in New York are in the audience at any theater production, clearing his head with a walk in Central Park, or hitting the dance floor at 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn. Also, “practice your ventilating speed!”
Loryn
While not an alumni of AMUA, Loryn Pretorius is part of the Tribe as one of our professors. Loryn graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2012 and moved to New York City in 2017 when she was offered a job as a principal makeup artist at the Metropolitan Opera! The job offer was immediate and in less than a week Loryn moved from Flordia to NYC and has loved every job since.
Loryn told us that she “absolutely adores teaching at AMUA, and [is] able to go between all the facets of our industry.” With her experience with hair and wigs on Broadway, makeup for TV/Film, and starting to grow as a full-time designer for theatre and opera she’s a perfect fit for teaching our students from afar. Loryn works alongside her fellow grads from UNCSA, as well as with our alumni! She’s employed our recent grad, Zack, to help build and run shows.
Loryn recommends visiting the Natural History Museum as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Arts if you’re visiting or moving to NYC!
Jenny
Jenny Ortiz started at AMUA with our Special Effects program, continued on to Beauty for TV/Film, and finished strong with the Wig Program in 2017. In 2021 she moved to New York with a job lined up with CGL Wig Design Studios making wigs for broadway shows! She had visited New York prior to moving to see if that was the best place for her to pursue a career in wig making and says she’s “happy it worked out in the end!”
Since moving to New York Jenny has been able to work with fellow alumni, as the studio she works for allows people to work by the piece. Jenny encourages students and alumni to “just go and make the move. It took me a long time to figure that out… Above anything else, have confidence in yourself and never give up!”
Jenny suggests going on movie tours and that it’s always fun to see a show or movie being filmed!
Megan
Megan Burke started at AMUA with Makeup for TV & Film in early 2020, and after a brief intermission due to the pandemic returned to take the Wig I and II, Business Development, History of Makeup, Special Effects I, and Photography! She completed all of this and graduated in January of 2022. During her time at AMUA, Megan had an internship in New York as an assistant wig designer on “Diana” on Broadway. Things clicked so well that she moved to New York full time this February!
Megan had some help making connections via the AMUA network as well as her mentor from “Diana.” That came full circle when she was able to recommend a fellow AMUA alumnus for a job. She says that “so far the industry feels very small and if you do well and work hard on one job, someone from that place tends to recommend you for your next job.” And while she’s not sure she could pick a favorite job, she knows each job is shaping her into the artist she wants to be! Megan encourages students and alumni to say yes to opportunities even if they seem scary, because “the things that terrified [her] at first… have been the most rewarding.”
Manhattan Wardrobe is her version of heaven and Megan says she’s spent way too much time at the Alcone store already!
This is just the beginning!
We have so many students and alumni interested in New York, so we know these first students’ success stories will encourage you all to make the move! We have an incredible network and support group and at AMUA we’ll do everything we can to help you get on your feet and make that first connection.
Support these alumni by following them on social media or going to see their work in New York!
