Section
Theatre

WHAT OUR GRADUATES DO

Everything! Theatre students go on to attend prestigious graduate schools like Columbia University and New York University where they earn advanced degrees. They work as professionals in the arts, including artistic directors, producers, editors, actors, writers, therapists, and musicians.

Theatre StudentFor example, Gavin Peretti ’04 has worked as the assistant director of an independent feature film, "Victim's Song," produced by Super-Nerve Entertainment.  Visit www.super-nerve.com.

Michael Sampson ’03 studied music therapy at Drexel Hahnemann and interned at an adult inpatient psychiatric hospital in Camden.  He  says, “The Eastern University community helped me to value the arts' potential for bringing wholeness and God's presence to the broken places in our lives.”

Dave Manzo ’00 has performed for the Prince Music Theater and Arden Theater, and directed over 100 projects. Dave’s short film Space Available won a half-dozen awards and has been seen around the world. His short film Follow thy Master, was shot on location at Eastern.  Dave says, “I’m in love with what I do and I thank Eastern for the skills that got me here.” Visit http://www.katscratchfilms.com.

Jake Miller ’01 is co-director of Yes! And… which he founded with other EU alumni in 2003. As a choreographer, he has returned to Eastern for productions including Godspell, Sheltered, Measure for Measure, and the Fab 15 Dance concert.

Joanna Sweeny ’00 earned her MA in educational theatre from New York University. She moved back to Phila. and co-founded Yes! And....Collaborative Arts iMagination Programming with alumni Jake Miller, Sarah Butts, Michael Brix, and Brooke Sexton. Joanna travels as an actor/educator with Living Voices, performing one-woman shows about watershed moments in history. She is a teaching artist with Philadelphia Young Playwrights. Visit www.yesandcamp.org

Deanna Downes ’97 earned her Arts MFA Directing from Columbia University in 2004.  She completed a four-month fellowship at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where she was the Assistant Dramaturg on outdoor productions of Twelfth Night and Love's Labors Lost by Shakespeare and The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. 

Felicia Latoya Brown '99 has worked on or performed in over 25 productions since leaving Eastern University's stage. One of her greatest highlights was meeting the original "Mrs. Squires" (Martha Flynn) from the 1957-1961 off-Broadway and Broadway productions of The Music Man while preparing to perform the role at the Ritz Theatre Company. Felicia has traveled and taught theatre in Costa Rica and Brazil with BuildaBridge International.

Tori Conicello-Emery ’02 studied at Immaculata University for her master’s degree in music therapy.  She says, “Being part of Eastern University's theatre program helped me find this career path.  It was in my senior year that I assisted Mark Hallen in directing William Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona when I came in contact with a vocal method (Linklater Method) that showed me the therapeutic potential of the voice as an instrument.  I am still studying the method and have applied it in music therapy sessions with many patients and voice students.  My goal is to someday open my own music therapy practice and become a designated Linklater teacher.”