Kenny Bellamy ’16 worked on King Lear and Cymbeline here in Fredericksburg with The Rude Mechanicals, an acting company partnered with the George Washington Foundation and the Lewis Family. For their production of King Lear, Kenny played Kent and also managed line cuts, choreography, and acquisitions. In Cymbeline, he played both Cornelius and Belarius.
Elizabeth Kump ’16 completed the Make-Up Summer Course at the Arts University Bournemouth in the UK. The course gave an in-depth look at different fashions, special effects techniques, and period makeup and hair, which allowed her to hone her skills in each of those areas.
Jessica Lane ’16 was a counselor for a SPARC (School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community) theatre camp called August Adventure. This is Jessica’s third summer counseling for August Adventure and this year, she was a counselor for a group of 4 & 5 year olds. She loved seeing such a young group of kids enjoying theatre!
Jamie Broadhead ’18 was also a counselor with SPARC. She spent six weeks as a counselor with their technical theater camp in addition to assistant stage managing the camp’s production of Hairspray. She then worked with Jessica on August Adventure which taught the littlest cast members of the camp’s production of Annie Kids.
Bev Kippenhan ’17 and Amanda Barnes ’17 studied abroad in Bath with ASE’s (Advanced Studies in England) Not Just Shakespeare Summer Theatre School. They studied many different aspects of the British theater including acting and dialect, Shakespeare, Restoration Comedy, Contemporary British Drama, and Theatre History. They were able to see many professional productions at The Globe, Royal Shakespeare Company, and many other famous theatres. Bev and Mandy agree that their experience this summer has been life-changing.
Jake Crowley ’16 spent six weeks in Boston, studying with the Michael Chekhov Actors Studio Boston intensive program, which focused on Sandy Meisner acting technique. This unique program’s focus is placed more on training and improv than scripts, which helps the actors to learn to behave truthfully to imaginary circumstances.
Hayden Morrissett ’16 worked as the Company Management Assistant for the Ford’s Theatre Gala in Washington D.C. Even though she was new to company management, she was able to draw parallels between that and the more familiar world of stage management. Working on an event of such a high caliber was an opportunity she will not soon forget.
Catherine O’Meara ’17 lived in New York City this summer to work and learn more about the city. She worked at PJ Clarke’s, a restaurant right across from Lincoln Center that ended up hosting The King and I’s Tony After-Party. It was an incredible experience to share in the celebration with the cast and crew of The King and I. She also starred in Gwen’s “Bad Blood” music video, and took part in a UMW photo-shoot.
Gwen Levey ’17 spent her summer working on her music. As her own manager and booking agent, she toured several different venues around the Fredericksburg, D.C., and Northern VA area. She was able to record her own songs at Song Builder Studios in Baltimore and Catalyst Studio in Fredericksburg. She also self-produced a music video for her cover of “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift, which starred some fellow UMW students.
Ford Torney ’16 spent six weeks at CAP21’s Summer Professional Musical Theatre Training Program in New York City. He spent his time there learning audition technique, music theory, acting, and vocal performance from industry professionals. Between three hours of dance classes in the morning, and classes in various other aspects of theatre in the afternoon, he kept quite busy!
Megan Khaziran ’17 interned at The Keegan Theatre as the ASM for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Although she had no prior stage management experience, she gained a respect and admiration for the craft. She also performed in the D.C. 1-Minute Play Festival at Round House Theatre in Bethesda, which exposed her to the vibrant D.C. Theatre community and allowed her to make valuable connections with many different actors and directors.
Madeline Clamp ’16 also interned at the Keegan Theatre in D.C. as the Associate Sound Designer for their production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She was able to join Keegan in their reopening after a complete renovation of their space and work on her first professional show. Her work was largely collaborative, as she worked closely with Tony Angelini, who has been a guest Sound Designer many times in Klein Theatre.
Maggie Murphy ’16 studied abroad in Bilbao, Spain for five weeks. In addition to her regular classes, she was able to practice her Spanish by going out into the community and talking to locals. She was also able to take a trip to Paris during her time there, and saw that “there is so much more to the world than [she] could have ever imagined.”
Michael Townsend ’17 worked on a research project for the Department of Theatre and Dance. His focus was to study the history of entertainment in Fredericksburg, not just through theatrical performances, but also tracing traveling shows such as circuses and minstrel shows. This intriguing project involved going through newspaper archives and finding articles and advertisements that dated as far back as the late 1700s.
Erin Becker ’17 studied abroad in Budapest, Hungary and traveled to many different countries during and after the program. From Hungary to the breathtaking mountains of Salzburg, Austria, her trip offered her a unique opportunity to observe the customs and cultures of each place she visited.
David Denyer ’16 performed in the role of Papa Bear in Encore Stage & Studio’s production of Shrek the Musical in Arlington, VA. He had a fantastic time working with such a talented cast and crew on such a physically demanding show.