To this day, Justin Gordon confesses, "I still drink too much coffee."
For that, the full-time actor has Espresso Royale to thank.
"Of my fond memories while earning my MFA at Illinois — and really, there are far too many to sort through — one of my weekly highlights were on the brutal days when we had long acting studio classes at Krannert," says Gordon, a Class of 2009 grad.
"After some intense work sessions — be it on Shakespeare or Chekhov or Sam Shepard — we’d finally have roughly a 15-minute break, at which point a group of us would make a mad dash out of Krannert and over to Espresso Royale to get a much-needed caffeine shot so we could continue on. That place became our go-to 'safe zone' during our training, allowing us a few brief moments of sustenance and recalibration — in addition to a meeting and study spot.
"I Googled to make sure it’s still there on Oregon Street across from Krannert; it is, and that makes my heart happy."
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