Brayden Hearn, a fourth-year student majoring in art studies with a concentration in theater, finds himself completely at home in University Theatre’s Thompson Hall. 

As the camera for his video interview rolls, he reflects and looks back on his time immersed in the University Theatre community, a student career that is likely to span double-digit programs by the time he completes his undergraduate program in May. 

Seeing how theater has become the epicenter of the college experience of Hearn, who will pursue two graduate degrees in Shakespeare and Performance at Mary Baldwin University, it’s hard to believe that this was far from his expected path when he arrived at NC State four years ago. 

“If you would have told me when I graduated high school that I would be going to grad school for Shakespeare, I think I would have laughed and said ‘What are you talking about?’” Hearn said with a laugh. 

Finding a Home with University Theatre

Hearn, who hails from Bunn, North Carolina, arrived at NC State as a Mechanical Engineering student. He attended the North Carolina School of Science and Math for high school, and felt that his future lay in the world of space and technology, which had long been an interest for him growing up. 

Hearn didn’t get a chance to perform in his first play until his senior year of high school. With that experience in mind, he auditioned for University Theatre’s production of Peter and the Starcatcher in 2023, and earned a role in the play. 

“I got into my first play here at NC State in the fall of 2023, so the first semester of my sophomore year,” Hearn said. “From that moment on, I realized that was what I wanted to do.”

Fast forward two years, and Hearn has acted in seven University Theatre shows, most recently Romeo and Juliet, with plans for more in the spring semester. 

He has also gotten more involved in the directing side, assisting with the direction of a TheatreFEST show last summer, and working with the program’s QuickSCRIPTS shows as well. 

While Hearn is treading a somewhat unique path pursuing a theater career at a school without a degree-granting theater department, he views that as one of University Theatre’s greatest strengths – the way it draws in students from different backgrounds who simply have a love for theater. 

“One of our dressers for Romeo and Juliet, who was in the dressing room every day, was doing his nuclear engineering homework,” Hearn said. “Both of the leads in Seussical the musical last year were engineering students. We have so many people from all over this campus come in and do these things. It’s really about building that community, and that’s one of the things I really love.” 

Danica Jackson, University Theatre’s assistant director of performance, said that Hearn has proven himself a reliable and dependable member of the University Theatre community, and sets an example for other students through his dedication to every production he’s part of. 

Hearn’s journey from mechanical engineering major to rising theater graduate student is the kind of story that embodies the program’s mission to give students from all backgrounds a chance to experience theater. 

“I think that’s why he’s become such a leader of our community, because he’s shown that the more you hang out with this community of people, the more engaged you’re going to be, and the more you’re going to feel like this is your home,” Jackson said. “I think anybody here could take a page out of his book in that regard, realizing that the more time you spend here, the more you’re going to recognize that this is a really open and loving community, and a place where everybody feels like they belong.” 

A New Passion for Shakespeare

Mia Self, University Theatre’s assistant director of acting and directing, also praised Hearn’s commitment and dedication, along with “wanting to know everything about everything.”

“He just really has an insatiable desire for knowledge, not just about what he already knows and is doing,” Self said. “He wants feedback and additional ways to approach things, recommendations for things that are conceptually connected to what he’s doing, best practices and the best place to go for the next piece of information, that kind of thing. It makes a lot of sense. Both of his parents are teachers. That drive for knowledge and that skillset for viewing the world are baked into him. It’s a real asset to our community and to all of the other students who get a chance to work with him.” 

Lately, that desire for knowledge has led Hearn to a very specific passion in the world of theater: studying and performing plays by the legendary William Shakespeare. 

Before coming to NC State, Hearn had read half of one Shakespeare play – Julius Caesar – in high school. However, after taking two classes from Christopher Crosbie, an associate professor in the Department of English who specializes in Shakespeare courses, he found his interest growing. He is currently working with Crosbie as a research assistant, researching and gathering Shakespeare materials for teaching.

“I love Shakespeare,” Hearn said. “It just excites me. I love to think about it. I love to read it. I love to perform it. I love to watch it. It’s almost like putting together a puzzle over and over again. That reward happens every time I experience it.”

Last summer, Hearn traveled with Jackson and others for the first summer Shakespeare study abroad program at NC State’s Prague campus, getting a chance to see 19 different Shakespeare plays, along with reading several. 

He also met an employee for a traveling theatre company, Elsewhere Shakespeare, where Hearn has performed in four different plays in just 11 months. 

“We got to experience the culture of the Czech Republic, how that influences not only Shakespearean performance and understanding, but theater in general,” Hearn said. “That opportunity was fantastic.”

Staying Busy on Campus

In addition to all of his various roles with University Theatre, Hearn is the treasurer for Alpha Psi Omega, NC State’s theater honors society. The organization runs concession stands at University Theatre productions, as well as various fundraisers and events throughout the semester. 

Away from the theater, Hearn has had a chance to explore another passion throughout his time at NC State. He is the co-president of Five Rivers NC State, the school’s fly fishing club that takes students to fish various bodies of water in the Triangle area. 

“I also have a great passion for fly fishing,” he said. “I grew up fishing. I think there’s such a charm that fishing small waters and fishing urban waters brings. And I love sharing that with other people.”

Theatre Graduate School

After he wraps up his undergraduate career at NC State, Hearn will take his theater studies to the next level at Mary Baldwin University in Virginia, where he’ll complete a three-year, double-master’s degree program studying Shakespeare and Performance. 

Hearn explained that this program, similar to the way University Theatre operates, is about learning to do a bit of everything, including acting, directing, stage managing and teaching. 

“There are a lot of similarities between the idea behind this program and University Theatre.”

“I’m not someone who wants to fall into one category,” Hearn said. “I love acting. I love directing. I love teaching. My goal is to teach one day. Going to this university and having the opportunity to do all the things I want to do through the medium of Shakespeare is such an incredible opportunity to me. I’m very excited. I knew the second I found out about this program, that was where I wanted to go. I’m lucky enough to be going, and that’s really exciting. There are a lot of similarities between the idea behind this program and University Theatre.”

Hearn pursuing this program will be a natural progression from the journey he’s taken throughout his time with University Theatre, learning and growing in the field of acting to build his skillset. 

“Probably more than most of my students, I’ve seen him grow to appreciate the craft of acting and be really dedicated to improving himself,” Jackson said. 

Hearn will be the second University Theatre student to join this program at Mary Baldwin, following Grayson Fulp, whom he met when he toured the school. 

As he pursues his graduate programs and Shakespeare and performance, Hearn will have a chance to represent University Theatre, and the opportunities that it gave him to learn and grow in the world of theater. 

“It’s exciting to know that there’s a community at Mary Baldwin that understands the kind of high-performing student that NC State is known for, and knows that student is also someone who brings a really unique perspective to artistic work,” Self said. 

Moving Forward

As Hearn prepares to begin his graduate program, he looks back on his time with University Theatre, and the program’s role in developing the passion he’s now pursuing at the next level. 

“I’m extremely grateful to University Theatre,” he said. “My life has completely flipped upside down in the four years that I’ve been here. It’s just been incredible, honestly. Mia Self and Danica Jackson, the two directors here at University Theatre, gave me an opportunity. I’ve had the opportunity to discover and explore my options and my passions here, and I’m so grateful for that.”

After completing his graduate program at Mary Baldwin, Hearn hopes to continue his education with further graduate studies, with the goal of being able to teach theater at the college level. Both of his parents were educators, with his mom teaching high school English, and his dad high school and elementary school band. Hearn hopes to follow a similar path of helping future students discover and develop their own passions. 

“I want to be an educator,” Hearn said. “I love teaching. I love being in the classroom. So that’s my big goal. When I think about what I want to do, I think about wanting to do a little bit of everything. Similar to Danica and Mia here at University Theatre, they get to teach, they get to act. They get to direct. They get to do all of these different things of ‘I just want to do that.’ I know I want to end up in the classroom in some capacity. I have a really big passion for education. So I would love to direct and teach. Those are the two big things that I want to establish myself in professionally. If I can just do that, I’ll be satisfied.”