By Lindsay Peyton

When Zachary Desmond recently auditioned for the M.F.A. in acting program at the Juilliard School, his thoughts traveled back to one of his earliest teachers – the late Christopher Zinovitch from ArtsWest. 

Zinovitch would have urged him to prepare more, Desmond admitted with a laugh. The Juilliard School, after all, has one of the lowest acceptance rates in the U.S.

He often thinks of the former artistic director of ArtsWest  -- and of his three summers in the theatre’s summer musical conservatory. 

Desmond attended West Seattle High School, where he was enrolled in theatre classes. At age 15, he spent his first summer at ArtsWest, preparing for a small role in “A Chorus Line.”

“It was a really neat show for my first real production, because it’s about an audition,” he said. “There’s a lot about that show that asks young artists to consider about theatre to them – because it’s not just about getting picked.”

At the end of the show, he had a realization: “I remember thinking, ‘I want to do this forever.’” 

Each summer, Desmond dove into material that was “challenging and formative.”

After “A Chorus Line,” he performed in “Cabaret” and then “Hair.” 

“It was a really intense nine or 10 weeks of summer,” he said. “It was pretty much all day. You’re acting, singing, dancing, all for the show. I loved it.”

Desmond then attended Boston College, where he majored in philosophy. He sill was active in the school’s theatre program but found himself drawn more to social responsibility and service. 

After graduating in 2012, he spent a year in New Mexico with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and later moved to Sitka, Alaska to work with a grief support organization. 

“I wanted to do work that really mattered,” he said. 

But theatre was still calling his name. “It never stopped,” he said. “I couldn’t get away.”

Desmond had started writing his own plays – and joined the community theatre. 

In October, he quit his day job to work on a commissioned piece for the Sitka Historical Society. 

A couple months later, he started applying for grad schools – so he could return to his theatre roots. 

By February, he had applied to six schools. About two weeks ago, he received his acceptance letter from Juilliard. 

He recently came back to West Seattle to pack up a few of his belongings from his parents’ place. 

And he couldn’t help but feel nostalgic about his neighborhood theatre. 

“People in this community make a program like ArtsWest summer conservatory possible,” he said. “There’s a place where young people can come together and explore and investigate society. That’s where I learned a kind of rigor, what it means to do something well and give it your best.”

This year, teens at ArtsWest have been performing “Heathers.” 

Artistic director Mat Wright said each summer, the theatre offers skills classes that can be applied to the production. 

“Our mission is to incite the imagination, provoke conversation and use theatre as an agent of change in all that we do, including our educational programming,” he said. 

And he said “Heathers” is a prime example. 

“It’s a challenging work in terms of content,” he said. “It’s dark. It deals with teen suicide, depression and bullying. Those are big heavy, emotion-laden topical issues to ask teens to engage with.”

High school students continue to rise to the challenge. 

“My hope is that teenagers will see the work that we do here and want to learn how we do it,” Wright said. 

He also spent his childhood on the stage. “The stuff I’ve done as a child in theatre has stayed with me my entire life and formed who I am,” he said.  Desmond feels the same way. 

“Some people get that from athletics – and some people get it from academics,” he said. “But I needed to get it from the arts.”

Desmond is currently hosting a crowdfunding campaign to cover the expenses of his first year at Juilliard. To find out more or make a donation, visit zackonstage.org. 

ArtsWest is located at 4711 California Ave SW. For more information, visit www.artswest.org.