This ghost story explores how the past animates our behaviors in the present. Can the teenagers who hang out at the abandoned Concord Floral greenhouse survive suburbia, high school, and a plague of their own making?

Associate Professor of Theatre Susanne Shawyer directed students in all the roles and led a team of student designers in the creation of this spooky play. Drawing on her background in ensemble devising, a method of collaboratively creating theatre, Shawyer taught the actors and creative team how to build a theatrical production from nothing but a few props and their imagination.

“It’s a really exciting way of making theatre,” Shawyer says. She notes that working together in the creative process builds a strong ensemble of actors. “Devising really helps everyone be aware of how their small part may fit into the greater whole,” Shawyer said, adding that this develops a sense of meaning and purpose for the collaborators.

Audiences of “Concord Floral” will enjoy seeing the actors build different locations from buckets, newspapers, and gardening plastics—all things that might be found in an abandoned greenhouse. The innovative use of these props came from student suggestions during the rehearsal process.

“Concord Floral” also includes dramaturgy by Associate Professor of Acting Kim Shively, who will lead a post-show discussion with the director and creative team after the Friday night performance.

This haunting coming-of-age tale includes adult themes and flashing lights.

More information about the production, including biographies of the cast and crew, is available .

Admission: $15 or ������Ƶ ID. Tickets are available at .

Originally, the ������Ƶ BFA Acting showcase would be presented live. Due to the pandemic, the decision was made to transition to a virtual showcase.

“Through Actors Access, our showcase remains in the top tier of those viewed by industry professionals from around the country and the Class of 2021 have made significant connections through their showcase,” said Kim Blair Shively, assistant professor of performing arts.

The first effort was so successful that it was decided to continue in this format. This showcase is available to agents and casting directors across the country to view at their convenience.

Each senior class spends over a year creating their showcase. Students begin looking for material during their junior year, rehearse during the summer and early fall, and film the entire showcase by the end of the fall semester. Then, with help from students in the Cinema and Television Arts program, they begin to edit and assemble the final product. The process is student-led, and is up to the class to organize and plan.

“Most of the beginning process was calculating our funds in order to pay these [Cinema and Television Arts students] and assigning roles to each person in the class to make the actual film process much smoother,” said Naiya Banks ’22.

Over time, students in the Acting and Cinema Television Arts programs have formed very close relationships. They need actors to be in their films, and Acting majors want experience on camera.

“One of the first things we established as a class when making the digital showcase was that we wanted to hire Cinema Majors to be on the crew for us,” said Banks.

Callie Fabac ’22 said the beauty of a virtual showcase is that you can send it directly to agents and casting directors.

“������Ƶ has a wonderful Acting for the Camera class that most students take in either their junior or senior year. In that class, we gain valuable on-camera skills, and the digital showcase puts those skills to use,” Fabac said. “We’re looking at Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. A digital showcase can easily reach all of those places.”

The ������Ƶ BFA Acting Class of 2022 showcase can be found by visiting the class’s .

This perspective gives students stage-acting training that can easily be applied to many mediums. In addition, the acting program enjoys a close relationship with ������Ƶ’s robust Cinema and Television Arts program housed in the School of Communications, so students have plenty of opportunities for screen acting.

������Ƶ in LA is just one of these opportunities. This program is a perfect opportunity for students considering a career in the TV and film industries. ������Ƶ in LA is a semester-long domestic Study USA program, where students live in the heart of the Hollywood district in Los Angeles.

“You literally hop off the plane at LAX and are thrust into this major metropolis with an internship, maybe a rental car and the GPS on your phone,” said Marlyn Fisher Scott ’20.

It can be overwhelming being in a new city, especially one that is so different from ������Ƶ.

“You go there and the first week is like, ‘This is a vacation I’m living the dream’ and then a month in you’re like ‘Oh no, this is still life, I still have to pay for things, I have work to do,’” said Tess Tregellas ’19.

Eduardo Diego-Bautista ‘23 is currently studying in Los Angeles. In his first, week he observed that is a nice wake-up call for actors considering pursuing a career in LA.

“You can feel the energy of everyone being on their own clock. Here, reputation and networking is very important. Lots of these people who work in one industry cross over to others and there is a level of professionalism that is expected.”

In addition to figuring out if this is where you want to begin your career, it’s a chance to develop new skills. Tregellas says

“You’re not only paying for the program but also for access to so many great resources, teachers and equipment,” Tregellas said. “I really wanted to learn how to be behind the camera and how to edit things.” At ������Ƶ’s new Second Home Studio, students have access to all the equipment and gear needed to work on those skills.

Diego-Bautista says he is gaining more skills that are applicable to his career and will help him as a creative, such as self-tapping, branding, website building and networking.

Another highlight of ������Ƶ in LA is their internship program. Students who take part usually have at least one internship during their semester in LA.

“It will allow you the opportunity to work in your desired field of entertainment, and if you play your cards correctly, you can walk away with a few solid industry connections that can vouch for your professionalism,” said Fischer Scott, who completed an internship at the Garry Marshall Theatre. Her internship was so successful they hired her following graduation.

If you are looking for real-world experiences in the film industry, this program is for you. “It is a reality check to those who romanticize being an actor in LA,” Diego-Bautista said.

More information about ������Ƶ in LA, and other Study USA programs can be found here.

Booking work post-graduation is becoming more and more challenging for an increasing number of young actors. The COVID-19 pandemic has also changed how theater companies operate, forcing them to cancel or postpone shows. With all this uncertainty, how is the preparing students to be so successful once they leave university? And how are their alumni continuing to book work?

When students accept their spots in the program, one of the first things they learn is that they are becoming a part of a large network of past, current, and future ������Ƶ alumni who will help them throughout their careers.

“The ������Ƶ alumni network is very real and very valuable” said ‘17. “Many of the jobs I’ve had – acting jobs and survival jobs alike – can be traced back in one way or another to someone I met through ������Ƶ… we’re always looking out for each other.”

Larkin started his career right after graduation at the Orlando Shakespeare Festival and starred in Dennis Bush’s Head First on Off-Broadway in 2019.

The faculty is also here to support students and make sure they’re equipped with all the tools to succeed after leaving ������Ƶ. ‘20 has recently appeared in commercials for New Balance, GK Hair and Arby’s.

“My professors supported me as I looked for theatrical internships, apprenticeships and summer contracts. They critiqued my monologues, wrote recommendation letters and reviewed my contracts for me,” Aleman said, who began booking work while she was still a student at ������Ƶ and has continued to book countless films and commercials since graduating.

In terms of preparation for the professional world, alumni feel they leave the program confident and ready to work. “������Ƶ Acting gave me a foundation. It gave me affirmation that this is something I can pursue and do,” said .

In 2018, Martinez starred in the Broadway production of “Network” alongside Bryan Cranston. When asked if he had any advice for current students, Martinez said, “Don’t stop training, get a hobby and learn from everybody, regardless of their pedagogy or where they went to school… everyone has a lesson, and you don’t know where they will be in five years.” Martinez went on to receive an MFA in Acting from Yale University.

The friends that students make in the program are friends they carry with them for life. “I’ve definitely gotten work due to connections I made at ������Ƶ,” said , who received her bachelor’s in cinema and television arts. “Some of my best friends I met in the film program at ������Ƶ. We still make films together. We’ve been accepted and won awards at film festivals across the world.”

One of Hurd’s films, “The Other Side of 25,” was a quarterfinalist at the Atlanta Film Festival in 2021. She adapted this from her stage play of the same name, which she wrote while receiving an MFA in Writing for Performance at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Australia.

The BFA Acting program is always looking to highlight what makes a unique performer. As Larkin puts it, the four years spent in this program will teach a student to “embrace your unique set of gifts, hone them, deepen them and refine them.”