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Amanda Przygonska is a proud Oxford continuee and Emory senior from the Chicagoland area. She received three state championships and four regional championships in the IHSA drama and group interpretation state series in high school for shows such as Pygmalion (Eliza Doolittle), Napoli, Brooklyn (Francesca), A Life Extraordinary (Polly), and Electra (crew). Despite the pandemic limiting her theater experiences, she continued to be involved in Emory's Carnival of the Nearly Normal (student artist-producer and actor), Lenaia (an outgoing producer of a student-run play festival), APO, Dooley's Player's Wolves (#13), An American Animal (dramaturg), and Our Town (assistant director and Howie Newsome). She has done all this after participating in Oxford's Men on Boats (Frank Goodman and Mr. Asa) and Medea (Messenger). Amanda's experience has made her disciplined in acting, directing, stage managing, and playwriting. What's next? Amanda plans on staying in the Atlanta area to pursue opportunities she has her. She plans to immerse herself in the field for a year or two before going on to graduate school. Favorite accomplishment? Amanda loved being involved in Lenaia as both an incoming and outgoing producer. She loved helping plan the festival, being heavily involved in casting and creatives, participating as an actor and director, and running tech for the festival dates.

Amna Sadig is a senior majoring in theater. At Emory she has been in “Marie and Rosetta” - the first all Black play at Emory - and Theater Emory’s “Our Town.” She has also done design and technical work for the Viral Plays and Britney Approximately. She is also a member of APO. Outside of theater, Amna is very involved in Greek life as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and former president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council. She is co-President of Emory’s Wonderful Wednesday and an RA in Woodruff Residential Center. You may have also seen her around campus promoting HBO Max as the campus ambassador! What's next? I intend to stay in Atlanta after graduation, perusing theater and marketing. Favorite accomplishment? One of my favorite accomplishments was “Marie and Rosetta” because it is important to me that Black creatives are given a platform in the arts, specifically in theater. As a Black woman who has been doing theater for most of my life, it is always refreshing to see opportunities for Black people to share our stories at predominantly white institutions.

I came to Emory fully planning to leave my hobby of working in theater behind me and pursue film exclusively, but this under-appreciated department pulled me right back in. I became a PA for Theater Emory and worked on so many incredible productions like The Nether and For Peace I Rise. From then on, it became clear that theater was never just a hobby to me. I declared theater as my minor and have expanded my skillset beyond tech into playwriting, directing, and even trying my hand at acting. I am so appreciative to this department for its welcoming nature and endless opportunities. What's next? I’m pursuing career in talent representation at an agency in New York, so I’ll be working with actors to make their Broadway and Off Broadway dreams a reality! Favorite accomplishment? When my short film received an honorable mention for the Annie Hall Award!

Joe Ambarian is originally from Wyomissing, PA. At Emory, Joe majored in Chemistry and Theater Studies, and was involved in Residence Life, Research, and Pottery Cub. During the pandemic, he worked as the props and costumes designer for Dooley's Players' virtual production of Breath of Water, and he acted in Theater Emory's virtual production of Infernal Machine. Recently, Joe has been very excited to help Dan Parker organize a networking event for technicians and designers in the Atlanta area. Joe has loved creating theater in his classes with his peers, and he has grown as a critic and lover of theater. The Theater Studies program has been an invaluable part of his experience at Emory. What's next? Next fall, Joe will be pursuing a PhD in Chemistry at Caltech. He is hoping to lead a career in academia, teaching chemistry; he plans to stay engaged with the theater community in Pasadena and wherever her ends up afterwards! Favorite accomplishment? During the Fall 2022 semester, my Site Specific Theater Class wrote and performed a piece inspired by Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. I am so proud of our work, and I cherish the friendships I formed through that process.

Maggie Whittemore is an Oxford Continuee who jumped into theater freshman year and has been unable to stop since. While at Oxford, she served as president of OxBroadway, played John Wesley Powell in OxTheatre's Men on Boats, and played Clara in Dooley's Players' production of Marry, Fuck, Breath of Water. Backstage, she stage managed Rachel Cusk's Medea and wrote for and assistant directed Hearing Voices. Professionally, she worked with Theater Emory as a production assistant for their 2020-2021 season. As an upperclassman on the Atlanta campus, she served as production manager and president of Ad Hoc Productions, stage managed 35MM: A Musical Exhibition, and directed The Lightning Thief. Professionally, she served as lead intern for Synchronicity Theater's Playmaking for Girls program and assistant stage managed Essential Theater's production of A Complicated Hope. What's next? Maggie's plan is to teach English as a middle-grade teacher while preparing to study theater in grad school eventually. Favorite Accomplishment? My proudest moment at Emory was having the opportunity to direct Ad Hoc's fabulous production of The Lightning Thief in my senior spring.

Yide (John) Cai I came to Emory as a insecure, unsettled, yet ambitious freshman who liked writing but not sure what I could do with it. And I found playwriting to be a very speical and attractive major, so I decided to give it a try. The first year went really well. I enjoyed all my classes, and I was in a theater production that was going to Edingburgh, but then the pandemic came. It was a tough time, but it also made me certian that I wanted to do theater and playwriting. So, I started writing better and doing zoom theater. Then, finally things started to be back to normal, and a breakthrough point for me was the Macbeth production which inspired me to write even better and more committed to theater. Now, I'm ready to do theater full-time. What's next? I'm applying and waiting to hear back from many internships and apprenticeships. Some are related to playwriting, and some are theater in general. I know that I'm going to do an internship with the German national theater in Weimar this November, and I have the interests of producers in China to produce my plays. Favorite accomplishment? I brought a lot of my Chinese classmates and classmates who study German into the world of theater. Most of them had no experience with it, but they ended up loving it.

Coming from North Carolina, I decided to attend Emory almost on a whim, one that worked out for the best. I started off as a Computer Science major before deciding to pivot to theater during my sophomore year, again on a whim that ended up working out. My collegiate theater endeavors have been relatively small scale, just a few staged readings here and there, but it has given me a great opportunity to explore the performance side of theater, something I have found myself enjoying a lot more than I initially thought I would. What's next? The future job that I have lined up for post-graduation isn't within the theater space as I will be working in HR at a bank. Still, there are tons of opportunities to stay involved with theater back home, both recreationally and as a hobby, opportunities that I plan to pursue. Favorite accomplishment? I think my biggest accomplishment was just taking the risk to major in something that I had previously had no experience in and coming out the other end having thoroughly enjoyed my time while gaining a new appreciation for the medium as a whole.

I'm from Birmingham, AL. I came to Emory really excited by the idea of the school's major in playwriting. I think my time here has helped me grow into an artist whose work has purpose and voice. What's next? I'll be moving to New York after graduation, making my parents proud by continuing to pursue improv (and working a desk job that pays my bills)! Favorite accomplishment? I'm very proud of the current iteration of Rathskellar! This is the strongest group we've had across the board and I feel very lucky that I got to play a part in that.

Over the past 4 years I’ve completely immersed myself in theater both inside and out of the classroom. And as a result I have created incredible work and memories with an incredible and supportive community. What's next? I plan to enter a costume and wardrobe apprenticeship in August after graduation. Favorite accomplishment? My favorite accomplishment is graduating from college.

At Emory, with the immense love and support from my friends and family, I began my journey as a queer woman, performer, and scholar. My classes in both the Theater Studies and the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies departments were integral for me in finding my voice as a theater artist. I have been deeply involved with student theater at both the Oxford and Emory campuses. At Oxford, I worked in the scene shop under the supervision of the wonderful Jessie Rivers and I served as the Technical Director of OxBroadway. At Emory, I have performed in both Ad Hoc and Dooley's Players shows and served as Treasurer of Ad Hoc Productions. (Some of my favorite roles have included Medium Alison in Fun Home, #25 in the Wolves, and Charon in The Lightning Thief.) This semester, I made my directorial debut (Hearing Voices: Politics and Identity), which I felt perfectly wrapped up my Emory experience/education by combining theater with social activism. What's next? Post-Emory I hope to work as a teaching artist for young children interested in theater in the Atlanta area. I plan on spending a few years here to get hands-on, professional experience performing and teaching, and then I will go on to grad school to get a masters degree in either education or acting. My Emory experience has helped me discover my interests in performance, youth education, and theater as a means for social change and advocacy. My dream is to do all three for the rest of my life. Favorite accomplishment? I directed Emory's first production of Hearing Voices, a site-specific theater experience that originated at Oxford College. Hearing Voices' aim is to amplify the voices and stories of Emory students who are a part of historically silenced (i.e. marginalized) groups. The theme of this production was Politics and Identity, inspired by Tom Zhang's Creating New Works class in the Spring of 2022. It featured pieces--all written and performed by Emory students--which discussed queerness, sex, mental health, institutionalization, capitalism, neurodivergence, and all the ways in which our intersecting identities both free and confine us.

My name is Sydney, I'm from the South Suburbs of Chicago, and I come from a large family of eight, (second oldest!) I decided attend Emory to pursue a degree in Psych/Linguistics, and minor in Theater, while immersing myself in the growing Atlanta film and acting industry. Throughout these four years I have followed my passion for acting both on and off-campus; through training, being in Campus Film Fest short films like ‘Subpar: Black Girl Love Story,’ Emory web series like ‘Reality Check,’ and performing within Theater Emory in the Fall of ‘22 as Katrina in the EMOS Award-Winning Production, Transmissions in Advance of the Second Great Dying. After gaining invaluable experiences and remaining determined in spite of the challenges faced while being a low-income, first-generation, work-study student, I was ecstatic to sign an across the board Film/TV, Theater and Commercial contract with one of my dream agencies, BMG Talent in Chicago and Atlanta, this past February. What's next? I plan on staying in Atlanta to pursue acting post-graduation under BMG talent’s representation. I will also be continuing my passion for uplifting low-income communities through Teach for America. Favorite accomplishment? Signing to BMG Talent for theater and film!

Sydney Webb is a graduating senior who has been a part of the Emory theatre program since her time at Oxford. Since entering the program, she has performed in, worked for, and directed numerous productions between the two campuses. She has served as the VP for the Oxford Drama Guild and the Mediation Officer for Dooley's Players. Sydney has also served as a marketing assistant for Theater Emory. During her collegiate career, Sydney also worked as the director of MP Theater Group, a professional theatre company separate from Emory. Through this, she has maintained a 3.7 GPA overall. She also completed an internship in educational theatre at her former high school during the height of the pandemic. Sydney wants to thank both her families, her real one and her found one, as well as her professors for their powerful and compassionate support over the years. What's next? Sydney will be taking up a job at the Alliance Theater for the summer, as a teacher's aid for their main summer camp. After this, she is excited to pursue her career in acting on the stage and screen, in Atlanta, and New York come next year. Favorite accomplishment? Maya Grace Was Here felt like such an honor to be a part of.