For University of Georgia Department of Theatre and Film students, the work of becoming an artist doesn’t stop when the academic year ends. This summer, students took their skills into professional theatres, film and television sets, classrooms, arts organizations and cultural institutions across the country and abroad. Students found opportunities to perform, design, stage manage, teach, produce and explore the many careers available in the performing arts.

In Atlanta, Cece Cullen interned with Electric Owl Studios, while Dyllon Glaze participated in the Grady LA Internship Field Study Program. Glaze worked in development at ShivHans Pictures and in social media for the BBQ World Cup & Expo alongside Gabby Almon and Abby McWethy. Glaze also served as a talent escort and award presenter at the 86th Annual Peabody Awards, presenting the Peabody Student Choice Award and participating in the evening’s special recognitions. Almon and McWethy also worked with Key Talent Management exploring both the digital and theatrical elements of talent representation.  

Onstage, Jacob Hawkins took on the demanding role of Percy Jackson in The Lightning Thief at Red Phoenix Theatre Company, completing the musical in a two-week intensive. Hawkins also appeared in the web series Neighborly, gaining experience in both stage and screen performance. Kaylor Jones spent the summer performing in The Lost Colony, America’s longest-running outdoor symphonic drama, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, serving in the ensemble and as an understudy for Eleanor Dare. Lily Morris performed as Kylar in Bring It On: The Musical with Atlanta’s Alumni Musical Productions and made her debut in a vertical production with a speaking role.

Behind the scenes, students gained experience across a range of technical and production disciplines. Alex Harris worked as a props artisan at Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, while first-year MFA Lighting student Tracy Lukach served as an assistant scenic charge artist at The Lyric Repertory Theatre in Logan, Utah. Sara Andree worked as a sound technician assistant at Atmosphere Loganville and performed in Legally Blonde at Red Phoenix Theatre Company. Carter Henley served as managing director for MTW Drama’s youth summer programming in Marietta, working across stage management, sound design and choreography. Jacob Arkin served as assistant director for a high school production of SIX: The Musical at Smoke Rise Academy of Arts, gaining experience with blocking and set design while also running sound for the production. The experience gave him an opportunity to work across multiple areas of production and collaborate with performers and fellow artists.

Teaching and community engagement were also central to many students’ summers. Arwa Abdelrahman stage managed productions for Synchronicity Theatre’s Playmaking for Girls program and worked with young students at Alliance Theatre’s summer drama camp. Emma Jira, Calista Johnson and Abbey D’Aguillo each spent time working with young artists through Alliance Theatre programs, with Jira and Johnson focusing on teaching theatre to elementary-age students and D’Aguillo teaching design before attending the Yale University Summer Conservatory for Actors.

Students also took their studies abroad. Samantha Gallant participated in UGA Theatre & Film’s Greece study abroad program with professor Ivan Ingermann, traveling to Athens, Santorini, Naxos and Nafplio to study ancient Greek history and theatre, attend the Epidaurus Festival and participate in workshops with theatre professionals.

For some students, the summer marked a first step into professional work. Patrick Oliver performed his first official acting job in a children’s water-effects show at Stone Mountain, while Anthony Gresham gained experience on the set of a Netflix series and in additional film and vertical productions.

From Utah and North Carolina to New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Greece, UGA Theatre students spent the summer putting their classroom experiences into practice, building professional connections and discovering new possibilities for their futures in the arts.