THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI
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Faculty and Staff
Faculty
Alan Arrivée - Associate Professor of Film Production
Alan Arrivée is a filmmaker, writer, and artist and Associate Professor of Film Production in the BFA in Film Production Program. His short film SILENT RADIO was awarded Best Foreign Film at The European Independent Film Festival 2007 in Paris, and his short THE ORIGINAL I.Q. TESTER received the Founder's Choice Award at the 2015 Queens World Film Festival. His short play THE ORIGINAL I.Q.TESTER was a finalist for the 2007 Heideman Award and was published in The Tusculum Review.
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Michael Barnett - Chair & Professor of Lighting Design
Michael Barnett is Chair & Professor of Lighting Design in the Theatre & Film Department where he heads the BFA Lighting Design Program. Recent designs include: National Tour (Forever Plaid, Miracle on 34th Street); North Shore Music Theatre (Grease, The Sound of Music); Faction of Fools (Our Town, Titus Andronicus); Barter Theatre (Tarzan, Beauty & the Beast, Always…Patsy Cline, The Wizard of Oz, Kiss Me Kate, Forever Plaid); Arkansas Repertory Theatre (Always…Patsy Cline); Tennessee Repertory Theatre (Sweeney Todd, Big River, Superior Donuts, Cabaret, A Christmas Story )...
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Miriah Borden - Instructional Assistant Professor of Lighting Design
Miriah is a lighting designer from deep in the heart of Texas with an education in theatre and art. She has two bachelors degrees (BFA in Theatre Design & Technology and BFA is Art Studio) from Texas State University where she also holds MFA in Theatre Design. As a visual designer, her forte is bringing color and texture to sensitive stories about life’s truth. She finds herself drawn to the heart wrenching stories that make people reflect on the world around us.
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Donna Buckley - Instructional Associate Professor of Costume Technology
Donna Buckley is a costume technologist, costume designer and costume historian. She is an Instructional Professor of Costume Technology at the University of Mississippi. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Costume Design from Wayne State University and her bachelor of Arts from Oakland University. Donna’s work experience has covered many areas in theatre from musicals and children’s theatre, to classical drama and dance. Some of her favorite films that she has worked on are Superman vs. Batman, Oz the Great and Powerful and All’s Faire in Love.
Anne Marie Cammarato - Instructional Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts
Anne Marie Cammarato is an educator, playwright and director. Her plays include Hazel (written while playwright-in-residence at Ole Miss), Bobby James, Milk Pie, A Scar, 10 Months, and The Big Room. Her work has been developed at PlayPenn, Theatre Exile, Temple University, the University of the Arts, and the Resident Ensemble Players, and has been produced at Delaware Theatre Company, Theatre X, Temple University and Ole Miss. She has worked at theatres including Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Madison Repertory Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and Delaware Theatre Company, where she served as Artistic Director for six seasons.
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John Carden - Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre
John Carden is the youngest countertenor ever to have been awarded a contract at the Metropolitan Opera. Long recognized for his artistry as an international performer of musical theatre, opera, oratorio, jazz, and cabaret, he is currently an assistant professor of musical theatre in the department of Theatre and Film at The University of Mississippi, focusing on musical theatre voice. Carden, a countertenor, received his vocal training from the University of North Carolina School of The Arts. In his senior year, he entered The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Met’s competition for promising young singers.
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Keith L. Davis - Instructional Assistant Professor of Film Production
Keith L. Davis is an actor, filmmaker, and educator with experience in the United
States and Europe. Keith received his M.F.A. in Filmmaking from New York University as a Dean's
Fellowship recipient. His work as a writer and director has been featured at numerous
film festivals, including Athens International Film+Video, BronzeLens, Chicago
International, Dallas International, Expresión en Corto, Fort Lauderdale International,
Rooftop Films, Palm Springs International Short Fest, San Francisco Black Film
Festival, Oxford Film Festival, and Urbanworld.
Leslie DeLassus - Instructional Assistant Professor of Film & Gender Studies
Leslie DeLassus is an Instructional Assistant Professor of Gender Studies and Film for the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies and for the Department of Theatre and Film. Her courses include Gender and Sexuality in Cinema, Comedy in Film, and Drama in Film.She has published chapters in Australian and American Cinemas: International Perspectives and The Image in Early Cinema: Form and Material, which examine the relationship between the practices of film preservation and film history.
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Mike Franz - Instructional Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts
Michael Lawrence Franz has previously taught at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL and Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, PA. He holds a Ph.D. in Theatre Studies from Florida State University, an M.A. in Theatre from Villanova University, and a B.A. in Theatre: Acting/Directing from DeSales University. He is a member of the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR), the Mid-America Theatre Conference (MATC), the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), and the American Theatre and Drama Society (ATDS). He is currently serving a two-year term as co-chair of the Theatre History Symposium for the Mid-America Theatre Conference.
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Sarah Garrett - Instructional Assistant Professor of Stage & Production Management
Sarah holds a B.F.A in technical theatre from the University of Mississippi and has spent the last 15 years working within a vast array of entertainment platforms. Sarah is proud to be a member of Actors Equity Association (AEA) and is well versed in working alongside the entertainment industry’s most prominent unions (IATSE, AFM, AEA, AGMA, Disney labor unions). Her work spans from traditional theatre, circus arts and theme parks, to national and international touring. She recently worked as a producer for artistic building design in META’s Horizon Worlds Virtual Reality platform.
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Carey Hanson - Professor of Costume Design
Carey Hanson is a Professor of Costume Design at the University of Mississippi. Her costume experience has covered a wide range of theatre, dance, opera, musical theatre, and theatre for youth. Carey has worked professionally with The Santa Fe Opera, Utah Opera, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Unicorn Children’s Theatre, Sundance Summer Theatre, Old Lyric Repertory Company, Harper Joy Theatre, The Pink Garter Theatre, and Playmill Theatre-Jackson. Carey has worked professionally in the costume industry since 1991 and has been teaching costuming in higher education since 2000.
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Sarah Hennigan - Associate Chair & Assistant Professor of Film Production
A Dallas-born Cherokee filmmaker, Sarah grew up on-set and backstage, and has been involved in the arts ever since. Her directorial work has been seen in festivals such as LA SkinsFest and the Green Bay Film Festival. Outside of writing and directing her own films, she focuses on documentary and narrative cinematography, with work recently shown at the Austin Film Festival, the Texas Filmmaker's Showcase, and seen on PBS. Her most recent short as a Cinematographer, I Am Mackenzie won the SXSW 2019 Texas Shorts Jury Prize.
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Chriss Huff - Instructional Assistant Professor of Film Production
Chriss Alison Huff is a documentary and experimental filmmaker who teaches in the Department of Theatre and Film as an Instructional Assistant Professor of Film Production. Huff has created a variety of work that explores and archives countercultures such as gender identity, drag performance, and Southern LGBTQ communities. Huff also creates experimental films and audiovisual installations that focus on the abstract nature of film itself by exploring how texture, objects, light, color, and sound interact with each other and create meaning.
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Joe Jackson - Instructional Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre Dance
Joe Jackson is Instructional Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre Dance. He earned his M.A. in Directing at Roosevelt University - Chicago College of Performing Arts and received his B.F.A. in Musical Theatre at the University of Mississippi. He specializes is Musical Theatre Dance & Tap, and brings over twenty years of professional acting and dance experience to the university. Professionally Joe has performed in New York, regionally, and internationally, and has also been involved in multiple readings and new works.
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Juli Jackson - Assistant Professor of Film Production
Juli Jackson is a filmmaker and media artist who creates narrative and nonfiction work focusing on art and creativity’s ability to uplift the individual and impact others forever. They specialize in screenwriting, directing, and experimental film and animation production techniques. They received their Master of Fine Arts in Film and Media Arts from Temple University and their Bachelor of Fine Arts from University of the Arts in Philadelphia. They specialize in screenwriting, directing, and experimental film and animation production techniques.
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Rory Ledbetter - Associate Professor of Voice & Acting
Rory Ledbetter is Associate Professor of Voice, Speech, and Acting in the Theatre & Film Department. He received his MFA in Theatre Directing from Florida State University in 2004. He is a certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework® and has extensive training in the Linklater Voice Progression, Knight-Thompson Speech Work, and Patsy Rodenburg's voice methodologies. Rory has studied Clowning with Chris Bayes, Avner the Eccentric, and Elizabeth Baron.
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Sam Luis Massaro - Instructional Assistant Professor of Performance
Sam Luis Massaro (he/him) is thrilled to be joining the Department of Theatre and Film at University of Mississippi as an Instructional Assistant Professor of Performance. He has worked in the regional theatre industry with nationally renowned companies including American Players Theatre, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, and Bedlam Theatre. Sam founded and is the Artistic Director of Circuit Theatre Company, a Chicago based company dedicated to reclaiming classical theatre for artists of underrepresented identities.
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Lauren Bone Noble - Assistant Professor of Movement for the Actor
Lauren Bone Noble is Assistant Professor of Movement for the Actor in the Department of Theatre and Film. Lauren has studied Lecoq based movement styles with Giovanni Fusetti, Charlie Oates, Susan Chrietzberg, David Bridel and Ronlin Foreman. Professionally Lauren has performed both on and off Broadway, regionally at Studio Arena Theatre, The Denver Center Theatre Company, Portland Stage Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and Arkansas Rep. Lauren has also worked internationally at Vienna’s English Theatre.
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John Rash - Assistant Professor of Film Production & Southern Studies
John Rash is a filmmaker, photographer, and video artist who has worked as visual storyteller and educator in the United States and China. John earned his M.F.A. in Experimental and Documentary Arts from Duke University. John’s research and teaching are focused on Documentary Studies, Southern Studies, film production, avant-garde cinema, expanded cinema, and moving-image installation. John’s creative work explores cultural outsiders and environmental topics through lens-based media as informed by documentary traditions.
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Matthew Shifflett - Instructional Associate Professor of Theatre Arts
Matthew Shifflett is a theatre historian and writer who has worked professionally as a playwright, a dramaturg, and an actor. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland--College Park. He has previously taught at Georgetown University and Montgomery College and has led acting workshops at Shepherd University. He is a member of the American Society for Theatre Research, the Mid-America Theatre Conference, and the American Theatre and Drama Society.
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Teresa Simone - Instructional Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies
Teresa Simone is very happy to join the theatre faculty at the University of Mississippi. Teresa has a PhD in Theatre from Florida State University, where she was a Legacy Fellow. She has won several awards for her research, including the Southeastern Theatre Conference’s Young Scholars Award, a PEO Scholar Award, and the American Society for Theatre Research’s Helen Krich Chinoy Dissertation Fellowship. Teresa’s research examines nationalist pageantry, emphasizing how women’s and children’s pageant performances model ideal citizenship...
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Jared Spears - Instructional Professor of Scenic Technology
Jared, a native of the Mississippi Delta, is a designer and sculptor who received his MFA in Theatre Design from the University of Mississippi in 2005. Jared was a co-recipient of the Mississippi Governor’s Award For Excellence in the Arts in 2002. In 2010, Jared received a special achievement award from The Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters for his work on The Passions of Walter Anderson: A Dramatic Celebration of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Artist.
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Dan Stearns - Assistant Professor of Acting
Dan Stearns is Assistant Professor of Acting in the Department of Theatre and Film. In 2009 he received his MFA from the Shakespeare Theatre's Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University. He holds two degrees from the University of Chicago where he was also a Lecturer in both Humanities and Theatre and Performance Studies, as well as production manager of University Theater. While living in Chicago he worked at the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and others. His on-camera experience includes television, commercials, industrial film, independent film, and new media.
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Michael Tuxhorn - Instructional Assistant Professor of Film Production
Michael Tuxhorn is a writer and filmmaker from Colorado Springs who has always been fascinated by image and narrative. Michael got his MFA from Loyola Marymount University, under the mentorship of award-winning screenwriters and dynamic filmmakers. Michael’s work is often focused on identity and perspective, and his hope to help other filmmakers create work reflective of their unique voices.
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Pria Williams - Instructional Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts
Dr. Williams is deeply invested in understanding how the stories people tell themselves–through drama, film, performance, and history–affect human behavior and thought. Their research focuses on cross-cultural avant-garde, cognitive science, popular culture, and gender within the US, Europe, and Japan during the 20th and 21st centuries. They have presented work on the shared corporeal topography of Butoh dance and live zombie performances and the cognitive effects of certain kinds of dramatic language and their publications include works on gender representation in theatre (Into the Woods) and film (Aliens), as well as performance and book reviews.
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Adjunct Faculty
Roxie Thomas Clayton - Adjunct Professor of Dance
Roxie Thomas Clayton is a native of Tupelo, Mississippi. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the University of Mississippi, where she was one of six dancers chosen for the Dwight Rhoden Choreography Project, which was then showcased at the Kennedy Center. While attending school Roxie was extremely active in Mississippi: The Dance Company, where she was a featured soloist and choreographer. Roxie completed her Master of Arts in Dance at Shenandoah University, where she studied with Alan Arnett, Ting-Yu Chen , Maurice Fraga, Kim Gibilisco, Elijah Gibson, Erica Helm, and Linda Miller.
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Lydia Siniard Foster - Adjunct Professor of Dance
Lydia Siniard Foster is the owner and Artistic Director of Oxford Academy of Dance Arts as well as the founder and owner of Hinge Dance Company, LLC where she also serves as Artistic Director. While at the University of Mississippi, Lydia danced with Mississippi: The Dance Company where she attended the American College Dance Festival as a dancer and choreographer. She also began Hinge Dance Company as a student-led dance company while attending Ole Miss and eventually made it a professional company to include dancers at Ole Miss and the North Mississippi area.
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Beth Reeves - Adjunct Professor of Theatre Arts
Beth Reeves is a professional teaching artist/actor/director who is a graduate of Columbus State University Department of Theatre and Dance, where she received her M.Ed. in Theatre Education. She teaches African-American Theatre Performance and Socially Responsible Theatre (Theatre for Social Justice) for her alma mater. Beth has worked with Dalton Little Theatre, The Creative Arts Guild, Georgia Thespian Conference, Speak with Purpose (Seattle, Washington), The Springer Opera House, Fountain City Poetry Slam, Alabama Educational Theatre Association among other arts organizations throughout the years.
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Faculty Emeritus
Joe Turner Cantú - Professor Emeritus of Theatre Arts
An actor trainer, director, and playwright, Joe is head of the acting program and is a teacher of acting, directing, and playwriting. His teaching expertise is in acting process, acting styles, and voice. For ten years, Joe was artistic director of Oxford Shakespeare Festival (OSF), a summer theatre on the Ole Miss campus. His professional playwriting credits include several productions throughout the country of his play Rock and Betty Dance, winner of a Rockefeller playwriting grant award. His play American Cowgirls performed at a theatre festival in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
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Dex Edwards - Associate Professor Emeritus of Scenic Design
Dex holds an MFA in Directing from the University of Mississippi and has spent the last 15 years designing and directing nationally and internationally. During six years as resident designer at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, his designs won the Critics Choice Award three years in a row. Regionally, he has designed for theatres such as Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Portland Centre Stage and the Sacramento Theatre Company.
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Rhona Justice-Malloy - Professor Emerita of History & Literature
Rhona Justice-Malloy is a Professor of Theatre at the University of Mississippi. She is a Fellow of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre, a Fellow of the Mid-America Theatre Conference, and a Fellow of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies. She received the University of Mississippi, College of Liberal Arts, Research, Scholarship and Creative Achievement Award. She has served as President of the Mid-America Theatre Conference and was the editor of Theatre History Studies for nine years.
Jennifer Mizenko - Professor Emerita of Movement & Dance
Jennifer Mizenko is a Professor of Movement for the Actor and Dance at the University of Mississippi, where she has run the Theater Department's dance program since 1989 and the movement program since 1996. Jennifer's duties include teaching jazz and modern technique classes, plus dance composition, dance appreciation, movement for the actor, and directing the university dance company, Mississippi: The Dance Company. Throughout her tenure at Ole Miss, Jennifer has continually enhanced her skills as a movement instructor.
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René Pulliam - Associate Professor Emerita of Theatre Arts
Since 1993, René Pulliam has been head of the BFA program in Musical Theatre at the University of Mississippi. She received her BA in Music from Whittier College in 1972 and her MFA in Dance/Choreography from Mills College in 1992. She has directed and/or choreographed hundreds of musicals across the United States, including the West Coast premieres of Smile, Closer than Ever, and Over Here. She has been awarded the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Award for her choreography on No, No Nanette and Good News.
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Production Staff
Corey Brittain - Costume Shop Manager
Corey Brittain is a Costume Shop Manager, Designer, and Technician originally from Michigan. He received his B.A. Theatre from Albion College and holds an M.F.A. in Costume Design from the University of Connecticut. He has previously worked at: Ohio Light Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, Des Moines Metropolitan Opera, Riverside Theatre, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Tibbits Opera House, Theatre at Monmouth, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
Jeffrey Hannah - Master Electrician
Jeffrey Hannah is pleased to be celebrating his tenth year as Master Electrician at the University of Mississippi. Originally from Troy, Michigan, Jeffrey holds an MFA in Lighting Design from the University of Illinois, as well as a BA in Theatre Performance from Oakland University, additionally he has completed internships at the Ozark Actors Theatre and Jeff Daniels’ Purple Rose Theatre Company.
Cory Kosman - Sound Designer
Cory Kosman is a Sound Designer from just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. He holds a BFA in Theatre Design and Technology from The School Of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University with a focus in sound design. He has designed for Kent State (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Into The Woods, Irena’s Vow), Cortland Repertory Theatre (Legally Blonde, Mamma Mia, Hair, Kiss Me Kate, Mary Poppins), and Coercion Theatre Company (The Maybe Pile). Cory has also worked as the Sound Superviser for Cedar Point’s Live Entertainment Department.
Felipe E. Macias - Technical Director
Felipe E. Macias is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU) where he served for 25 years as Designer and Technical Director in the Department of Theatre and Dance. While at ENMU Mr. Macias served as department chair for eight and a half years, was named Outstanding Advisor and honored with the Spirit of Eastern award for outstanding achievement as a faculty member. Mr. Macias has designed over 150 productions including, in 2015, the world premiere and subsequent European tour of the opera Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
Holly Rankin - Costume Shop Assistant
Holly Rankin is a Costume Designer, Buyer, and Technician from Des Moines, Iowa who has been involved in theatre since she was four years old. She received her BFA in Production Design with an emphasis in Costuming from Savannah College of Art and Design. Getting her professional start, Holly worked on many independent short films (Cavity, Straw Lady, No Acorns for Blind Hogs, etc.), sitcoms (Tours and Attractions) and a few theatre performances (Sense and Sensibility, Mr. Burns) as a designer. After working on feature films and television shows (Fabulous Four, Clean Slate), Holly missed working in theatre and constructing costumes.
Jonathan Smith - Film Equipment Manager
Jonathan Smith is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and geek. He has a life-long love of story, although he took detours through careers in I.T. and archaeology before he found his home in film. He has been able to combine these diverse skills to support others' film projects through research, technical and equipment advice, and IT support, in addition to creating films of his own. His short film, “Remembering Elwood Higginbottom”, has been shown to community groups and city governments in support of lynching memorialization, as well as showing at several regional film festivals.
Meg Winkler - Properties Designer
Meg Winkler, a Texas native, is a props artisan and manager, and is very excited to join the Ole Miss family. Meg received her BA in Technical Theatre and Design from the University of North Texas and went on to complete her MFA at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (go Pickles!). She has designed, managed and built for several theatres, including Seattle Children’s Theatre and the Ogunquit Playhouse. Some of her favorite shows to work on have been Heathers (2021), Sweeney Todd (2022), and Little Shop of Horrors (2024).
Ed Neilson
Master Carpenter
jeneilso@olemiss.edu
Professional Staff
Katie Gidley - Secretary
Katie Gidley earned her B.A. in English from the University of Mississippi with an emphasis in Creative Writing and a minor in Theater Arts. She is currently earning her Masters in Teaching from the University and is so thrilled to be working for the department who contributed so much to her education! She plans to go into secondary education where she will be teaching both English and Drama.
Madison Hickey - Administrative Assistant to the Chair
A lifelong native of Oxford, Madison is no stranger to The University of Mississippi community. She graduated in 2021 with a Bachelors in Finance and a Minor in Theatre Arts. She is currently working towards her Masters in Business Administration with a lifelong goal to hopefully run a theatre company of her own one day. She currently sits on the Board of Directors with Theatre Oxford, the community theatre program here in Oxford.