What years did you attend WAA?
Approx. 2017, I just know it was the summer between my freshman year of high school and 8th grade, and I graduated 8th grade in 2017.
What program(s) did you participate in at WAA?
Dramatics Fanatics with Peg Hoffmiller! I’d taken one class early in the summer, and if I remember correctly, it was at Woodlawn. Then she invited me back, free of charge, to the class in Rock Falls later that summer, at Centennial Park. I only remember the specific details because I couldn’t be at the final performance because I had an ear infection, bummer!!
How did WAA make a lasting impression and impact on you?
Oh gosh! It taught me how to push beyond my comfort zone. Before taking a class at Woodlawn, I would quite literally hide under tables whenever someone would try speaking to me, but Peg, and everyone else in that class, taught me how to not be afraid of failing during a scene, or making fun of yourself. Being able to put myself in another person’s shoes for a few minutes allowed me to better understand aspects of myself.
What areas of study did you pursue after your time at WAA?
I attended and recently graduated from Augustana College with a degree in Theatre Performance and Film! Since graduating high school, I’ve experienced many different aspects of theater, from acting, directing, stage combat, dialect work, intimacy work, improv, set design, costume design, lighting design, sound design, set building, immersive theater etc… Augustana has such a well rounded program, I was able to get hands-on experience in essentially anything I wanted to learn about!
What are your current arts related job/career?
I’m currently the Studio Manager at The Radar Free Press in Rock Falls! This job relates more to my film degree, but I’m still doing what I love, telling stories, albeit, just not live, ha! If you’ve seen a video we’ve published on our website, odds are I had my hands on it somehow, whether designing the motion graphics, directing the shoot, editing the video, being a production assistant, or being in the actual video!
Do you feel that your time at WAA is a direct reflection on your current position/career path?
Oh most definitely! As I mentioned before, if it weren’t for that single acting class, I would not have found my true passion in life, telling stories, which I get to do both in theater and as a filmmaker!
