Donor Spotlight: A Lasting Commitment to Debut

How one student's Debut experience continues to shape her life and inspire her generosity

There's a particular kind of juggling that happens in a newsroom: managing multiple stories, coordinating reporters across several countries, and meeting deadlines while news is still unfolding. Julia Symmes Cobb does this every day as head of the Reuters Andean Bureau in Bogota, Colombia. Ask her where she first learned to juggle like this, though, and she won't point to journalism school.

"Debut was a training ground for multitasking," Julia says. "The juggling I learned there is directly useful for what I do now, where I'm juggling all day."

Julia's career has taken her around the world, but her connection to Debut began much closer to home. She joined First Stage around age six and stayed involved through Debut Players until 10th grade. Today, she's Debut Theatre's longest-standing monthly donor, supporting the same program that helped shape her as a child.

Finding Her Place

She still remembers what it felt like to audition and be accepted into Debut Players. She was the youngest member at only 12 years old, and surrounded by high schoolers who seemed impossibly grown-up. Instead of feeling out of place, she felt welcomed almost immediately. The older Players took her under their wing, making sure she had rides, knew where she needed to be, and never felt left behind. Looking back, Julia sees this as an early example of Debut's troupe model in action: students supporting one another, with everyone given a real role to play.

That support came with responsibility, too. Every student was expected to contribute, communicate, and speak up when they needed help. "If you didn't do it, it was on you," Julia says. Those expectations taught accountability, but they also built confidence. No one disappeared into the background, and no one had to figure things out alone.

Symmes Cobb performs in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (2004).

Investing in the Future

It's part of why Julia still supports Debut today. She splits her charitable giving between local and national organizations but says there's something particular about investing close to home. "When you give locally, it's a reminder of the tangible things that can be done," she says. "The small things make a difference." For Julia, giving is ultimately about opportunity: she hopes her monthly gift helps another young person experience Debut, regardless of their family's financial circumstances.

Lessons That Last

Julia's career led her into journalism rather than theatre, but many of the lessons she learned on stage never left her. Chief among them was learning to communicate clearly and advocate for herself, skills she now relies on daily while managing reporters across South America and covering fast-moving international news. Debut also taught her resilience. "If you flub a line, you carry on," she says, a simple lesson that has served her just as well in a newsroom as it once did on stage.

That's why Julia believes Debut's impact reaches far beyond theatre. Whether students go on to pursue the arts or something else entirely, they leave with confidence, communication skills, resilience, and the ability to work with others, qualities that stay with them long after the final curtain. For Julia, supporting Debut is simply a way to make sure today's students get the same opportunity she did.

Her monthly gift has quietly helped make Debut experiences possible for years, proof of how consistent local giving adds up to lasting impact. If Julia's story resonates with you, consider becoming a sustaining donor and investing in the next generation of Debut students. Learn more by clicking here or on the “Donate” button at the top of this page.