McCraney I auditioned for New World three times. I didn’t get in until the last, and even then it was through a waiting list. The first audition, I was nervous and unprepared. The piece I had had no relevance to my life at all. It was Christopher Durang’s “Baby With the Bathwater.” I found it in a monologue book. I started to write my own pieces then. Even then, I knew work was not made for gay, poor, dark-skin teenagers.

Were your parents supportive of your desire to pursue the arts, a profession where jobs are scarce?

McCraney Most of the time — not about dancing but acting and writing, yes.

De Pablo My parents came from a comfortable reality in South America and they thought every reality was going to be a comfortable one. You want to go to this school — fantastic. They were incredibly kind, but a little ignorance is bliss, too.

Lacamoire They were extremely supportive. My mom especially would listen to the teachers, who would say your son is special, your son is doing things that other people can’t. She never said to me, study dentistry instead. Somewhere in there she was concerned and wanted to make sure I had a backup. She never really pushed it on me. In high school my mom would drive me to all my gigs because I couldn’t drive.

As students enter the professional world, what are the challenges and how do you overcome them?

Lacamoire You are in the business because you have to be in the business, because there is a need to perform, communicate, express yourself. It’s such a hard road. There is so much rejection. The means are meager. You have to share a plate of spaghetti with someone because you can’t afford it yourself. You continue on because there is nothing else you want to be doing. You have to have that drive. You are allowed to get to a point where you get exhausted and you can’t anymore. If you get to that point and there is rejection, if there is still nothing else you would want to be doing, you keep going. But you have to figure out what are you not doing to get gigs. Are you not strong enough at jazz? Get a jazz teacher. Are you not good at reading music? Once you stop learning, you are dead.

McCraney “The only thing new you bring to the art is you” — Alvin Ailey. Know yourself, your true desires, your limitations, and your capacity for change.