The blog, which was created about a week ago, currently consists of 12 posts from alumni of the department detailing aspects involved with being a working actor in New York City, including how to find an apartment, where to look for a job and how to seek out a roommate.

“It’s a great resource for students who might be a little terrified to move to a major city,” professor of theatre Rob Roznowski said.

Uhl hopes her blog will help prepare current theatre students for a career in a major city like New York City or Los Angeles, which she said is something many students in the department dream of.

“I created the blog as a way to rally our MSU community in New York City and to use our collective stories — the raw information and the passionate furies — and to use it all to help inform the current students about some of the realities of being out here and actually living and working as actors,” she said.

Uhl, who graduated from MSU in 2010 and has since worked professionally as an actor, assistant choreographer and assistant director, said she felt it was her duty as an alumna to give back to the department that helped prepare her for her career. She plans to continue to post articles every couple weeks so current students can check back and learn along with the alumni already living in the city.

“I feel an incredible obligation to connect back with the place that gave me so much,” she said. “The best way I can give back is informing the students (of) the opportunities that are here in New York.”

Uhl said she has taken everything she learned at MSU and applied it to her work, but because the Bachelor of Fine Arts program is fairly new to the department, many students graduate without the know-how to make it in a major city.

“New York is a tough city, (and) it’s not easy to survive here as an artist,” she said.” It’s almost like we don’t graduate with the confidence to tackle a bigger city like New York.”

Tim Pare, who graduated from MSU in 2007 and is one of the blog’s contributors, wrote about the difficulties he had turning down jobs that weren’t right for him and the importance of looking out for one’s self in the industry.

“We’re in charge of our own life,” he said. “I think it’s important for people to know that we have to protect ourselves in the business.”

Pare, who currently is in between jobs, said he never had a resource such as Uhl’s blog while he was in college and is happy current students will be able to benefit from one.

“I think it’s interesting and very important that these students now will have a backing and community of performers made up of like-minded people in the city,” he said. “I think it’s important we’re all here supporting each other. It’s almost like a little family.”

Theatre senior Caitlyn Knisely, who is moving to New York City after her graduation in May to pursue an acting career, said reading Uhl’s blog has helped lessen her anxiety about moving to the city.

“It’s really nice to see people from our department out there making it and doing it because everyone always tells you how hard it’s going to be to move to New York and make ends meet,” she said.

Knisely said the promise of a strong network of alumni in New York City makes her more confident about packing up and moving across the country in pursuit of her dream.

“Everyone in that blog came from Michigan, and they all took the plunge, and they were able to do it,” she said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get turned down, but … it makes it easier for your move if you know you have a support group to go to.”