Nick Garay first to earn CMC’s new theater degree
By Beth Zukowski
Nick Garay fell in love at Colorado Mountain College.
The object of his affection, he discovered there, was theater.
This May, Garay earns an Associate of Arts degree with an emphasis in theater. But it won’t be the first time he crosses the graduation stage. In 2009, he earned an Associate of General Studies degree from Colorado Mountain College.
“When I found out CMC got approval to offer its theater degree, I came back to get it,” says Garay.
Garay’s will be the first theater emphasis degree the college has awarded. The program touts the rare opportunity of first- and second-year college students to assume roles early in their theater study.
“I never thought this would be what I wanted to do,” Garay says about acting. Not even his outgoing personality nor a role he played in the Glenwood Springs High School production of “Les Miserables” compelled him initially to pursue acting or theater.
Without a clear conviction of what he wanted to do, Garay picked business. “Since a lot of people study it, and the whole world revolves around it,” Garay says, “that’s what I thought I would do.”
After taking a couple of classes, he realized it just didn’t resonate with him. “I couldn’t picture myself being in an office all day,” he says.
In pursuit of his first degree from Colorado Mountain College, he got involved in its theater productions. He landed the starring role of Cripple Billy in the 2009 production of “The Cripple of Inishmaan.”
“I really enjoyed it. It was very challenging. The feedback I received made me feel good,” he says. It would be his first of six major roles for CMC Theatre, spanning the gamut from drama to comedy.
Somewhere along the way, he fell in love with the stage. He still has that starry-eyed gaze of someone in love. When he’s acting, he says, “everything else is so much brighter.”
Garay considers himself lucky to have found what he loves. He plans to continue his training and has eyes on applying for an apprenticeship at New England’s renowned Williamstown Theatre Festival next year.
“My ultimate goal is to be involved in theater,” he says, whether or not it becomes his full-time vocation. “As long as I’m acting, I’ll be happy.”
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This article was printed in the April 30 edition of the Glenwood Springs Post Independent.