Audition with Blue Man Group turns Chapman student blue with success

 After three days of exhaustive auditions and almost five years to the day that he dressed up as a Blue Man for Halloween, Craig Shields ’12 landed the dream of his budding musical theater career – acceptance into the training program for The Blue Man Group.

Shields, a double major in instrumental performance/percussion and music education, says he received the news shortly after washing off the thick blue greasepaint slathered on during the final round of auditions held last month in Los Angeles.

“The flood of emotion I had after that was unbelievable. In the midst of midterms, rehearsals, and performances, I had focused all of my energy and effort onto this one thing and it had worked. I was successful (to my own surprise) and had good news for my family, my friends, and my professors, who were thankfully supportive despite how many of their classes I had to miss,” Shields says.

Shields has long been a fan of the musical theatrical group, known for its high-energy concerts that are a mashup of music, theater and performance art.    

The next step for Shields is to attend a paid eight-week Blue Man Group training program in New York, which the entertainment company agreed to defer until Shield’s graduation in spring. The training remains competitive and about one-third of those accepted do not make the final cut, Shields says. But he says he is confident the combination of music, dance and theater skills learned at Chapman University puts him in good stead for going the distance.

“Here’s to hoping for a very ‘Blue’ future,” he says.