He made his stage debut in June 1921, playing the male lead in The Truth. He was very well received in the role and quickly developed a passion for the stage; he was reportedly "obsessive about acting to the degree that he talked about little else". He and some friends formed an acting company called the Campus Players, which they took on tour. As a member of the college debate team, Tracy excelled in arguing and public speaking. It was during a tour with the debate team that he auditioned for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) in New York City. He was offered a scholarship to attend the school after performing a scene from one of his earlier roles. Tracy left Ripon and began classes at AADA in April 1922. O'Brien was also enrolled there and the two shared a small studio apartment. Money was scarce, and the two often lived on meals of rice and pretzels and shared one decent suit between them. Tracy was deemed fit to progress to the senior class, allowing him to join the academy's stock company. He made his New York debut in a play called The Wedding Guests, which opened in October 1922. He made his debut Broadway appearance three months later, playing a wordless robot in R.U.R. He graduated from AADA in March 1923. Career Stock theatre and Broadway (1923–30) Immediately following graduation, Tracy joined a new stock company based in White Plains, New York where he was given peripheral roles. Unhappy there, he moved to a company in Cincinnati, but failed to make an impact. In November 1923, he landed a small part on Broadway in the comedy A Royal Fandango, starring Ethel Barrymore. Reviews for the show were poor and it closed after 25 performances; Tracy later said of the failure, "My ego took an awful beating." When he took a position with a struggling company in New Jersey, Tracy was living on an allowance of 35 cents a day. In January 1924, he played his first leading role with a company in Winnipeg, but the organization soon closed. Tracy finally achieved some success by joining forces with the notable stock manager William H. Wright in the spring of 1924. A stage partnership was formed with the young actress Selena Royle, who had already made her name on Broadway. It proved a popular draw and their productions were