Through the Lens of Max Muzquiz

The acting bug hit Max Muzquiz ’23 in Middle School. But it took a few more years to develop into a passion that he would study more deeply and consider pursuing in college. Max was also on the surf team, a leader in Mental Health Club and passionate about marine biology (possessing countless fish facts tucked in his memory). Yet, he focused on growing as an actor and mentoring younger performers.

Max shares his journey below.

It all started with the seventh-grade musical High School Musical JR, where I played the lead role of Troy Bolton. That’s when I met and got close to Mr. [Robert] Wagner, our theater teacher [now the director of visual and performing arts]. From then on, I became involved in various productions, participating in musicals and joining the play production class.

During my junior and senior years, I truly discovered my passion for theater and decided to pursue it as my college path. I played the character Flute in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. My comedic monologue had the audience in stitches. I was in this dress, and it was ridiculous. 

Junior year was a turning point for me. With Mr. Wagner’s guidance and letters of recommendation, I applied to several acting programs. But it was a shot in the dark, so I was shocked when I was invited to Yale’s summer conservatory. 

Attending the conservatory was a transformative experience. The intensive schedule, from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day for five weeks, allowed me to experience an authentic acting environment and test my abilities. It solidified my desire to pursue acting and prepared me for the challenges ahead. Encouraged by my experience at Yale, I applied to NYU’s Tisch Drama and was surprised and excited by the news of my acceptance.

I like being on stage and acting, but to expand my understanding of the arts, I experimented with directing and signed up for Intro to Technical Theater. Mr. Wagner gave me the opportunity to direct the Middle School production of Romeo and Juliet during my free blocks in junior year. I enjoyed working with younger actors and found watching them grow and learn rewarding.

That passion for directing continued through my senior year when I created a syllabus and organized an independent study in Theatrical Directing with Dr. Short. My semester one project was a one-act play with freshmen. They did auditions and read-throughs, and we spent two hours every day in the Black Box after school. For the second semester, it’s a full-length play. There’s a technical crew, designers and music. It’s a much bigger project. 

The technical theater class gave me a newfound respect for all technicians. You have to know what the other side is doing while you’re on stage. I feel like it’s a rite of passage. Now, I’ve gained a new perspective and can appreciate a different aspect of the theater and my classmates behind the scenes.

A big emphasis of creating the independent study was to offer my younger classmates the opportunity to improve their skills and to add that extra activity to their resumes, which will help when applying for college. Seeing what they can bring to the table made it a learning experience for both of us, so everyone gets stronger every show. For example, I chose a freshman to be my assistant director. She played Juliet in eighth grade, so I know she can act. I wanted her to experience a different aspect of theater and progress in her growth sooner than usual. 

Mr. Wagner has always fueled my fire. He’s been motivating me since seventh grade, along with Dr. Short, Dr. Halloran and other teachers at Country Day—they all helped me progress to where I'm going. I benefited from my time here and wanted to make my mark on the theater program. We keep hearing that colleges are becoming more competitive, so I tried to make things easier for the younger students who follow this path.