Alumni of the Department of Theatre and Dance, we want to hear from you. Learn more about how to stay in touch and help support the next generation of artists, scholars and creatives on our Alumni Resources page.
Jacqueline Christina Heard (B.F.A., Dance, 2001) has choreographed the #IMomSoHard Live Tour as well as the comedy special by the female cast featured on Amazon Prime Video. She was also the producer, co-movement director, and dancer in the dance film Syzygy. Photo by Barry Weiss
Alumna Kimberly Belflower's (M.F.A. 2017) play John Proctor is the Villain was selected as one of 33 new plays on the 2019 Kilroys List, which includes un-produced and underproduced plays by women, trans and non-binary authors. Titles are selected by nomination through the New Play Exchange.
Recent alumnus Andrew G. Rodriguez (B.F.A., Theatre Studies, 2019) joins the Professional Training Company at Actors Theatre of Louisville. This program guides talented and motivated early-career theatre professionals to undertake a nine-month long training program that combines practical experience with professional development opportunities.
Alumni Travis Tate (M.F.A. 2018) and Graham Schmidt (M.F.A. 2018) have teamed up for Theatre East's 5X5 Drama Series, presenting Tate's work Color at the End of the World. Theatre East is an official partner of NYC Pride and this year's 5X5 Drama Series features original, commissioned work celebrating the LGBTQ community remembering the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
Andrew Aaron Valdez (B.F.A., Theatre Studies, 2017) has been named one of Cleveland Public Theatre's 2019/2020 Premiere Fellows. The Fellowship includes a cash award, with additional funds available for projects, professional development and access to space, equipment and other assets.
Jacqueline Lawton (M.F.A., Playwriting, 2003), an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has researched, developed, and presented a staged reading of her play Edges of Time, which will premiere at PlayMakers Repertory Company. This one woman show is about the life and times of Marvel Cooke, a pioneering journalist and activist, who was the first African-American woman writer to work for a mainstream newspaper. The play will run from Apr. 29–May 3, 2020. Photo by Jason Hornick.
Allison Ebling (B.A., Theatre and Dance, 2011), has finished the first national tour of The Bodyguard and School of Rock. She is currently Head Audio on the first national tour of Anastasia.
Gabriel Jason Dean's (M.F.A. Playwriting, 2012) play Heartland, whichlooks at the personal stories from the war in Afghanistan, is part of a National New Play Network rolling premiere currently on stage at the Vortex Repertory in Austin.
Rodney Richardson (B.A., Drama, 2010) debuts in his first feature film, "The Day Shall Come," which premiere's at SXSW Film Festival in spring 2019. Richardson is currently acting in the TV series, "FBI."
