Senior isn’t blue about his future in Blue Man Group

Senior Craig Shields can put on a show with his eyes and hammer out a beat on a PVC pipe. He doesn't look half bad in a bald cap and blue paint either.

The percussion performance and music education double major earned a spot in the eight-week training program for the Blue Man Group in October.

Shields was one of more than 100 people competing in Los Angeles to be sent to the training program in New York next September.

Shields, one of the final six from the Los Angeles audition, will be paid $1,000 a week during the program, along with free housing and travel expenses to New York. He will learn five routines and songs and will eventually perform in a live show as a Blue Man. Shields said while the money is a plus, doing something he has been training for his entire college career will be enough of a reward.

Shields said this is in the top tier of things he would like to do, but it may just be one step before graduate school.

"I acknowledge the fact that this isn't a gig for the rest of my life, but it's my dream gig," he said.

The final Los Angeles group was narrowed down from a group of 18 who survived an acting audition. Shields said he found the auditions challenging, which he expects to be the case in New York, particularly in acting.

"You have to emote everything from your eyes as a Blue Man. That challenge in itself, of a limited range of expression, will be a huge obstacle for me," he said. "To carry it on through the show with stamina is like running three miles the performers have told me. It'll be a challenge every day."

Shields' mother, Cindy, who teaches improv to children and also acts and does stand-up comedy, had Shields involved in musicals at the age of nine.

 "He's seen the hours and sacrifice it takes to be a performer from his father and me and we all know the odds of getting paid to do what you love are slim at best," she said. "But he's worked hard and now he is finally getting to see the fruits of his labor."

Shields' mentor, Nick Terry, assistant professor of music at Chapman, said the university has prepared Shields because the percussion program plays a lot of adventurous music on exotic instruments, perfect for the Blue Man Group.

"Craig is already a very naturally gifted percussionist. He is ready for advanced ideas and learns advanced concepts easily," Terry said. "The program isn't necessarily cut-throat at Chapman though so it will be interesting to see how Craig does with such a wide range of competition in New York."

Senior music performance major, Jill Marriage, has worked closely with Shields since their freshman year. The attitude and playfulness of the Blue Man Group fits him perfectly, Marriage said.

"I have no doubt he will stand out," Marriage said. "His training mixed with his quirky personality and his level of comfort when in the spotlight will make it so that no one will be able to deny he doesn't look like he is genuinely having fun."

Sophomore percussion performance major Jordan Curcuruto, Shields' girlfriend, said Shields has been nervous about having a plan for after college and decided on a whim to go with the opportunity.

"It was perfect timing and he's really put in the effort to be successful," she said. "He is a hard worker and loves to perform and I think both of those characteristics will show in training."

Shields said he was close to making excuses and not showing up for the audition because if he doesn't receive a role with the Blue Man Group he will be set back about a year for going to graduate school.

"If I looked at this as just an unreachable ideal I never would've made it," Shields said. "The whole time I couldn't believe I was still there, but I've let go of my reservations and it's working."