Williams passed away<\/a> in June of 2023, after a vehicular accident in Dorset.<\/p>\nCullinane played the role of Claude Hooper Bukowski in BBA\u2019s production of “Hair,” and could have just as easily played the role of William\u2019s character in the 1979 film adaptation, according to BBA Director of Drama, Dance and Tech Theater James Raposa. Raposa served as a mentor to Cullinane during his time at BBA, and saw him fit to receive the debut scholarship he established to honor William\u2019s legacy. Cullinane is the first recipient of the scholarship.<\/p>\n
From a young age, Cullinane knew that he wanted to do something within the artistic space. During middle school, he discovered the world of thespianism by watching YouTube recordings of live performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started watching these shows on YouTube, and like, I was never going to be able to afford to see these shows live. I started watching shows online, where someone would just sneak a camcorder into a show and post it online, and I was just blown away by experiencing people performing live, in front of people, onstage. Acting in real time, not for a camera or a TV show,\u201d said Cullinane.<\/p>\n
Cullinane was bitten by the theater bug, parallel to a darker infection. The COVID-19 pandemic had hollowed out the theater program at his private, Catholic middle school, leaving him an actor without a stage. Undeterred, Cullinane rallied a group of friends to create their own space for performance, working together to stage an independent showcase based on the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton,” and was ultimately inspired to chase the creative spark to the halls of BBA.<\/p>\n
In high school, Cullinane immersed himself in the world of performing arts, but found himself struggling to embrace roles and characters that required a structured and obedient adherence to the playwright’s vision.<\/p>\n
\u201c[James Raposa] built me from the ground up, helping me to build my character from Freshman Year until now. In previous musicals that I had done, characters were written to be a certain way. I had a hard time, even though I enjoyed the challenge, with articulating those characters in a way that was personal to me. It became challenging to impersonate the character, and that is an actor\u2019s job, so it was a real learning curve,\u201d said Cullinane.<\/p>\n
Cullinane discovered an occupational strength during the production of “Hair,” stating that the interpretive nature of the show allowed him to connect with his character, and build his performance from a place of authenticity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think of acting as a dive into the self. A sort of reflection of the personal psyche you have, and I research characters in a way that I can connect and translate through my own life and experiences, and bring that to the stage, and [Hair] was a chance for me to really bring that into my character,\u201d said Cullinane.<\/p>\n
Cullinane is slated to attend the University of Essex [London, United Kingdom] to study for a Bachelor\u2019s of Fine Arts in Acting, and said that the scholarship is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to invest in his artistic ambition and success, and possibly mitigate cost-of-living concerns. Cullinane was caught off-guard, accepting the scholarship unexpectedly at BBA\u2019s Annual Scholarship Night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no idea that this was going to happen. I was told a few days prior to attend, and went onstage with other theater classmates. We were told to stay onstage for a moment, and it was announced that I had won this scholarship,\u201d said Cullinane.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hit me out of nowhere, and I do not have the words to express how grateful I am,\u201d said Cullinane.<\/p>\n
Raposa said that the scholarship is the first of its kind, and exists as a privately funded endeavor that will continue for as long as benefactors are able to support it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue this scholarship for as long as we can. [Williams] was such a fixture around this area, and was such a giving and kind person that we wanted to find a way to honor him by embracing and fostering the next generation of performers,\u201d said Raposa.<\/p>\n
Having worked with Cullinane since Freshman Year, Raposa found it fitting to reward his growth, work ethic and ambition by awarding him the debut scholarship funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing about [Julian Cullinane] is that he always comes out willing to work. He conducts himself like a professional, and we try to treat our students like they are professionals, knowing that they can develop into that space later in their lives if they chose to. I saw his biggest trajectory and change during his Sophomore, Junior and Senior years. Something clicked for him, and it was obvious how deep into this work he wanted to go. He was willing to work outside of his comfort zone, and he did that,\u201d said Raposa.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do believe that he found his full voice over the years, and I could not be more proud. I would share a stage with him any day,\u201d added Raposa.<\/p>\n
James \u2018Trippe\u2019 Cullinane, Julian\u2019s father, said that his son has filled him with an immeasurable sense of pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am extremely proud of Julian. He showed a natural talent and ability in performance at an early age, along with an outgoing and fearless approach to life. It has been the thrill of my life to see Julian develop and grow as a performer with the support and guidance of amazing and talented people like Jim Raposa, Claudia Shell-Raposa, Anya Matanovic, Julie Freebern, and so many others who have a track record of success in the business,\u201d said [Trippe] Cullinane.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs his father, of course, I think Julian is a talented performer, but having his mentors, and Treat Williams\u2019 family, who are the unseen support structure, acknowledge and recognize his potential, is very validating and gave Julian a boost of confidence. I hope that he will continue to have positive influences like these in his life as he continues the pursuit and development of his craft and happiness in London,\u201d added [Trippe] Cullinane.<\/p>\n
Julian will be heading across the pond shortly, and left some words of encouragement for incoming BBA students.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever let [artificial intelligence] do you job for you. Love everyone, because hope is still here and it is not the end yet, and know that we are stronger together as people. Nobody should ever give up on their passions or dreams, and it is up to you to chase them at full speed,\u201d said [Julian] Cullinane.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.benningtonbanner.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MANCHESTER \u2014 Julian Cullinane, a recent graduate from Manchester\u2019s Burr and Burton Academy (BBA) always knew that he wanted to create. \u201cThe only thing that I\u2019ve ever wanted out of life is the ability to create something that is done out of passion,\u201d Cullinane told the Bennington Banner from a picnic table on the now-quiet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2463695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[350405,22764],"class_list":["post-2463694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-arts_and_culture","tag-local-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/BBA-grad-receives-debut-Treat-Williams-Scholarship-Entertainment.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2463694"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2463696,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463694\/revisions\/2463696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2463695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2463694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2463694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2463694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}