How a Broadway actor-turned-producer found new purpose and professional growth through NYU Steinhardt’s Performing Arts Administration program
After three decades as a professional actor on Broadway, in film, and on television, Jack Noseworthy ('23) began carving out a new path behind the scenes—producing musicals, fundraising for not-for-profit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and building a career rooted in passion, impact, and purpose. After 30 years as a working actor, Jack made a bold decision to reimagine his future through graduate study at NYU.
"I’d never held another professional job outside of acting," Jack shared. "But I was always interested in producing. When I found myself working with professionals in arts administration at the American Repertory Theater, many of them had degrees in performing arts administration. That made me think -- maybe I should go back to school."
Jack enrolled in the Performing Arts Administration program at NYU Steinhardt part-time, a decision that would ultimately allow him to launch a second career as a producer, fundraiser, and nonprofit leader.
Current Performing Arts Administration graduate student Grace Palmer ('26) met with Jack to interview him about how a Broadway actor-turned-producer found a new purpose through NYU Steinhardt’s Performing Arts Administration graduate program. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Flexibility That Makes It Possible
"I'm a grown person. I have a family. I was definitely an older student, and the flexibility to attend part-time was a major attraction," he said. "It took me five years to finish, but I was able to keep working and support my family while getting my education."
While enrolled, Jack took time off to perform in Come From Away in Canada—his final role before fully pivoting to producing. At the same time, he was launching his commercial theater company and developing Real Women Have Curves, a new musical that made its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University last year and will begin Broadway performances in a Shubert-owned theater on April 1.
"Because of what I got from the Performing Arts Administration graduate program at NYU Steinhardt, and the opportunities that were presented to me (which I grabbed), I’ve been able to successfully toggle between both the nonprofit and commercial world."
Learning While Doing
Jack’s educational and professional lives ran in parallel. "I was working in development during the day and taking a development course at NYU at night. It was hand-in-hand. Everything I was learning was happening in real-time."
That synergy helped him transition from acting to producing with clarity and confidence. "Getting the degree allowed me to partially erase my imposter syndrome. It changed how people saw me—and how I saw myself."
Highlights and Hard Lessons
He credits NYU PAA faculty, such as Program Director Dr. Richard Maloney, Donna Walker-Kuhne, and NYU Stern professor Joseph Porac, for shaping his academic experience. Courses in finance, leadership, and audience development gave him the tools to navigate both practical challenges and big-picture strategy.
When asked how he has grown as a producer since completing his master’s degree, Jack explains: “I grow every single day as a producer. My show, Real Women Have Curves, has a female protagonist. It’s about women. It tells a story about betterment, and it’s a very uplifting, funny story about a woman who overcomes her fears and makes her dreams come true.”
“The biggest thing you learn..[as a producer].. is managing personalities and managing people—figuring out how to work with their experience, their insecurities, and their personalities holistically, in order to achieve your goals. You need to understand how to manage personalities and approach them where they’re at, be vulnerable, but also be in a position of strength. It’s a constant balance between claiming your knowledge, and being open to leaning on others for their experience to help guide the answer—because perhaps you don’t know what that answer should be.”
Balancing a full-time job, school, family life, and the pandemic wasn’t easy. "Time management is essential. Being a mature student gave me perspective. I didn’t panic the way some of my classmates who were earlier in their careers did. But group work reminded me that I should not live in a bubble."
Advice for Future Students
"NYU is an unbelievable school. There are opportunities everywhere you look. My advice? Do everything. Say yes to free tickets, talk to your professors, join a club, or work in a box office. Sweep the floors. Apply for every job. Don’t take yourself out of the running. Don’t edit yourself."
Looking back, Jack’s journey from actor to producer and nonprofit leader wasn’t a clean break—it was a creative evolution. And NYU was the place where that evolution took root. "I've always been a ‘forever student,’" he says. "And this experience reminded me just how thrilling that can be."
Jack Noseworthy is currently the Individual Giving Officer at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and a commercial theater producer at Truworthy Productions, a company he owns. His new show, Real Women Have Curves, opens on Broadway in April 2025.
