Student, screenwriter, therapist and comedian

Now a senior, Allan Rice first began sneaking out of his house at age 15. Like many other teens that age, Rice would deceive his parents as to his true destination. Unlike most teens, however, Rice did not do so to attend forbidden, raucous parties; rather, he snuck out to perform comedy at local nightclubs.

"I had to find out for myself if I could do it," said Rice, who grew up in Los Angeles, California. "My philosophy was that either I would do well or I would fail, but I had to put myself out there to find out."

Rice's willingness to take risks in order to pursue his passion paid off. He gained not only a positive response from the crowds with his stand-up routines, but also received invitations to perform at popular clubs in downtown L.A..

Though the Tufts campus is far from those L.A. comedy clubs, Rice, now 21, continues to "put [himself] out there" and reap the rewards He's the director of Tufts' improv troupe Cheap Sox, he's a member of the ExCollege board, he's written scripts for talk shows on TUTV -- and, to top it all off, he has made his own movie.

Rice considers the movie, "The Real Dick Stone," to be his greatest accomplishment. Inspired by a month-long course on hypnosis he took during his sophomore year, Rice's script explores the experiences of the titular character, Dick, after he undergoes hypnosis.

"I had no idea what I was getting into until it was done," Rice said of the film's creation and production, which took two years. Though most members of the final cast (25 actors and 30 crew members) were Tufts students, actors came from all over the Boston area to audition for roles.

The one and a half-hour film, which was shot between February and May of last year, was edited in ten days in order to give the graduating seniors who had participated in the project the opportunity to view the final product.

"This project required more time than any class could have taken," Rice said. "It taught me how to manage with other people and work together as a team." Rice was impressed by the willingness of his "team" to commit so much of their time and energy to the project: "They were willing, for example, to stay up all night to edit for me," he said.

Rice is currently submitting "The Real Dick Stone" to independent film festivals, and is working on scripts of smaller projects for TV shows.

Cheap Sox, which he joined his freshman year, provides Rice with another outlet for his love of performance. He was appointed co-director last year, and this year, he was made director.

"What I really like about the Cheap Sox is the ability to feel comfortable taking risks and bouncing back ideas with a group of people," said Rice, who refers to his involvement in the troupe as his defining activity at Tufts. "The Sox taught me how useful a group setting is."

This funnyman is also familiar with group settings of a more serious sort: the clinical psychology major has an internship at a day treatment center called Conexions, where he leads therapy sessions with patients suffering from mental illness and substance abuse.

Though Rice says that his experiences studying psychology and working with patients have been valuable, they have also confirmed for him that his true passion lies in the entertainment industry.

Rice, whose older sister attended Tufts, also credits the Tufts environment with helping him to further refine and pursue his career goals. "I have learned more at college outside of the classroom than inside, but I wouldn't have been able to do it if I wasn't at Tufts," he said.

Once he leaves Tufts behind, Rice plans on moving back to L.A., entering the entertainment industry, and finding his niche in the world of entertainment. "Right now, my goals are to take the nervous energy I have and put it to good use," he said. "I know how hard it is to be successful, and I will do whatever it takes."

"If you like doing it, then it's not work," he adds. "It's fun -- nervous, exciting fun."