Theatre had always been your passion. From the moment you gained consciousness and were able to decide your own interests, the world of stage, lighting, song, dance, drama, and art drew you in. You volunteered at a theater before you started acting. Then you worked tech for other shows, set design and construction, then in your final year of high school, you directed a production.

Now you’re in college for a BFA in theatre. Not just acting, not just directing, not just tech. Anything and everything. And in your Acting 101 class (a generalized term, it’s got a much more technical name), today, you’re supposed to have a guest speaker. The professor had done a great job at keeping it a secret. All the class knew was that there would be a guest speaker. Nobody knew who.

So of course, when Mike Faist walks into the classroom and greets you all with the biggest and most beautiful smile on his face, you nearly shit your heart out.

He gives the greatest presentation you think you’ve ever heard. Just about his journey through acting, how film and theatre are two very different breeds of acting, and just about anything else you could think of pertaining to his craft. He opens the floor up for discussion. You raise your hand, not even thinking — you definitely don’t have a question, maybe other than ’can I get your number?’ — but trembling as you desperately try to get him to notice you.

And notice you, he does. He smiles right at you and points. “Yes?”