CURRENT APPRENTICES
Alison Burris is the Electrics Apprentice. Originally from Baltimore, MD, she graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans. She recently designed the lighting for Eccentricities of a Nightingale at Tulane and Three Tall Women at the Shadowbox Theater in New Orleans. She also recently designed costumes for Chamber Music at Tulane. Her favorite playwright is Anton Chekhov. Her favorite gel color is Roscolux 365: Tharon Delft Blue.
Martha Burson is the Development Apprentice. Originally from Evanston, IL, she graduated from Yale University with a degree in English. Most recently, she worked as the Company Manager for the Yale Institute for Music Theatre. While at Yale, she was on the Executive Board of the Yale Dramatic Association. She not only focused on producing but also dabbled in electrics, stage management, props, and paint. Production credits include
The Perks (Yale Cabaret, stage manager),
Rent (Yale Dramatic Association, producer),
Arcadia (Yale Dramatic Association, master electrician), and the new play
Commandments (Yale Dramatic Association, producer).
Elena Hight, the Education Apprentice, is a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis where she studied Theatre and Philosophy. While at Washington University, she focused on directing and theatre studies, winning the Herbert E. Metz prize for Dramatic Criticism and the Lynn Cooper Harvey Award for research in American Drama. Her recent productions include Monster (Thyrsus, Director), The Gem of Akin (Thurtene Council, Director), and The Threepenny Opera (Washington University, Asst. Director/Dramaturg). She has also served as a director and producer for Washington University Television (WUTV) programs and WUSTL Live, the premier sketch-comedy show at WashU. She was Vice-President of the Council for the School of Arts and Science and has completed internships at Edison Theatre in St. Louis, Performance Space 122, and the New York International Fringe Festival. She continues to write critically about theatre, art, and all other forms of culture.
Danielle Mohlman is the Production/Company Management Apprentice. She holds a M.A. in Theatre Studies - Directing & Playwriting from Emerson College (Boston, MA) and a B.S. in Journalism with a minor in Theatre from the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Previous credits include Centastage and Shadowboxing's Three Ring Reading Series (stage manager - festival), Stopgap (playwright - staged reading), Redwood: a circus drama (playwright - production), Jim and Paul Meet in Dreams (playwright - Rareworks Theatre Company), Assassins (director - workshop), Boys and Their Handwriting (playwright - production), Vinci! A Musical Drama (stage manager - Boston premiere), Into the Woods (asst. director - Emerson Stage), Jim and Paul Meet in Dreams (playwright - Newfest Staged Reading, Rod Parker Award Finalist), Angels in America (director - workshop), and Jim and Paul Meet in Dreams (playwright/producer - BC/EFA benefit).
Lorna Mulvaney (Business Apprentice) is a native of Cheshire, CT and a recent graduate of The George Washington University, majoring in Theatre and minoring in Business. While at GWU, Lorna studied acting as part of the Presidential Scholars in the Arts scholarship and served as the Executive Producer of Generic Theatre Company. Her acting credits include Prospera (The Tempest, GWU), Polly (The Threepenny Opera, GWU), and Queenie (Wild Party, Generic Theatre Co.). Additional production credits include Stranger (Director, Generic Theatre Co.), Glengarry Glen Ross (SM, Generic Theatre Co.), and Working (ASM, GWU). Lorna has also served as the Production Assistant for the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, CT, as well as collaborated with a DC community empowerment organization, For Love of Children, to create and run a theatre workshop for low-income high school students in the local DC area.
Jamila Reddy is the Artistic apprentice. She is an alumna of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she majored in Dramatic Art and Sociology. She directed several productions at the undergraduate level, including the premier of Kind of Blue, an original play by Kuamel Winston Stewart, and Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf. Jamila was the 2010 recipient of the Richard and Christopher Edward Adler Award for Excellence in Dramatic Art. She received two grants from the Executive Director for the Arts for For Colored Girls… and for Kind of Blue. As a scholar in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, Jamila conducted and presented research under the mentorship of Dr. Ashley Lucas on Black plays in North Carolina’s regional theatres. Jamila is a member of the Golden Fleece, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s oldest and highest honorary society. She was also a member of the 2008 Bull City National performance poetry slam team. Jamila served as artistic director (2008-9) and two-term president (2009-11) of Ebony Readers Onyx Theatre, a spoken-word theatrical group at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Anthony Romero is the Operations and Facilities Management Apprentice. Anthony studied at Monmouth University, where he received a B.A. in Theatre Arts concentrating in Acting. There, he spent most of his time working on the production side of theatre. He is very excited to learn how Operations Department works in an actual theatre. “The qualities I learn will not only help me survive in a theatre but will also help me with surviving in the real world in general.” He hopes to get a Masters in Theatre and Special Education. He is very excited about working at Studio Theatre.
Alicia Sells is the Stage Management Apprentice. Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she is a recent graduate from Vanderbilt University with a BA in Theatre and English/History. During her collegiate career, she focused on stage management but was also heavily involved in directing, acting, and costume construction. Recent production credits include Women of Will (Shakespeare and Company, stage manager), Merchant of Venice (Vanderbilt University Theatre, stage manager), Big River (Tennessee Repertory Theatre, stage management intern), Butterflies Are Free (Vanderbilt University Theatre, director), the Annual Freshman Showcase (Vanderbilt University Theatre, director), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Vanderbilt University Theatre, Germaine), and Volpone (Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Celia). She also served as president of Vanderbilt University Performing Arts Council and as Seasonal Productions Manager of Vanderbilt University Theatre.
Nick Tosches is the Carpentry Apprentice. Hailing from Connecticut, he graduated from Boston Massachusetts’ Emerson College with a BFA in Stage Management in 2010. Even though he majored in Stage Management, he has been a freelance Carpenter for the last 4 years while earning his degree and has been building sets since high school. While living in Boston he has had the pleasure to work with some of its finest theatre companies, such as Company One, Theatre on Fire, The Lyric Stage Company, and The Longwood Players. Some of his favorite productions include Company One’s Grimm and After the Quake, and Theatre On Fire’s production of Black Adder the entire 2nd Season on Stage.
Kate Robards is the Communications Apprentice at The Studio Theatre. Her responsibilities on a show begin with assisting on advance photo shoots and culminate in providing the creative team with the features and reviews of the shows. In addition, she develops and implements a vibrant social media campaign for the Theatre and its productions. She can usually be seen tweeting live from various theatre events. Prior to her position at Studio, she has worked for KVLU, an NPR affiliate, produced news stories for Fox KBTV, and written for The Daily Caller. In 2011, she was the Press and Talent liaison for Library Theatre at Sundance Film Festival. She holds a B.S. in Communications from Lamar University.
APPRENTICE ALUMNI
Miriam Yoder
Stage Management Apprentice 06-07
“I was the Stage Management Apprentice at Studio during the 2006-2007 season. I am currently assistant stage manager on Eclipsed at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and in the Spring of 2010, I will stage manage Sixty Miles to Silver Lake for Studio's 2ndstage. My apprentice year was the most exhausting year of my life, but in the best kind of way. I learned so much about the business of theatre and about myself. It was great to see different aspects of all of the departments; now when I'm at other theatres I have a basic understanding of what is happening in all of the other departments. I'm pretty sure I was living on espresso and Chinese food (because Yums is right next door and awesome!)! I wouldn't change it for the world, though. Those challenges shaped me in ways I can't even being to put into words. I'm thankful for that. The added bonus of the apprenticeship? Friends. I deeply cherish my friendships with past and present Studio staff members and crew members. Of course, my fellow apprentices were key too. We all learned different things from each other, helping each other make it through the rough days.”
Julie Lamb
Admin/Conservatory Apprentice 07-08
“Since my apprenticeship I have been working at the National Endowment for the Arts as a Staff Assistant for the Deputy Chairman of Management and Budget. My favorite part of the apprenticeship was the fact that I had such a diverse experience. I'm pretty sure that--because I was the admin apprentice--I ended up working for every single department at the theatre, if not every single person, at some point during my apprenticeship. As a result, no day was like another and I was constantly learning and growing.”
Chelsey Christensen
Development Apprentice 08-09
“I was the 2008-2009 Development apprentice at The Studio Theatre. I am now the Membership Gifts Associate at Washington Performing Arts Society in downtown DC. I love the DC area and wanted to continue to be involved in the arts nonprofit community after my apprenticeship, and I am doing exactly that! I am certain that I would not have my current job if it weren't for my apprenticeship experience. During my apprenticeship I assisted in every aspect of the Development Department and I was given responsibilities that surpass those of many other internship/apprenticeship opportunities. The well-rounded experience and the knowledge I gained prepared me for my current full-time development position. I had an invaluable experience while also making friendships and connections that will last a lifetime.”
Melissa Hinojosa
Carpentry Apprentice 08-09
“As the 2008-2009 Carpentry apprentice, I worked alongside some of the most talented and passionate people in the industry. The hard work and dedication exhibited by Studio's staff members was unrivaled. I absolutely loved working in the shop! As an apprentice, I really enjoyed the production meetings. It was a chance to see the process of a production start out as an idea or a drawing, and evolve into a full scale performance on stage. The Apprentice Program not only helped me refine my skills as a carpenter but helped me grow as a person. Making the transition from a college student to a young professional can be a daunting task. I can honestly say that the friendships and experience I gained from the program will be with me for the rest of my life. Thanks to Studio, I am proud to be part of an industry where sawdust in your pocket is an everyday thing and 'it's not worth doing unless you get dirt, grease or splinters under your fingernails.'”
Jennifer Harris
Production/ Company Management Apprentice 09-10
"I entered The Studio Theatre Apprentice Program after finishing my Master’s Degree at New York University in Artistic Direction and Production. While the knowledge I gained from my studies was (and always will be) completely invaluable, I knew I needed the hands on experience of working with an established institution to really grasp what it meant to run a successful theatre organization. My time as the Company Management Apprentice was like nothing I could have ever imagined. I was not only a member of a production team that produced 10 shows over the course of the season, but I was also involved in the largest leadership transition The Studio Theatre has seen. Witnessing such a turning point in this institution was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career as of yet. But beyond the skills I learned, the people were by far the best part of the job. The Directors and Designers are some of the most talented people I have ever met, the staff members are some of the most dedicated individuals I know, and my fellow apprentices, my colleagues, are some of my closest friends. I felt so much a part of this family that after my apprenticeship I applied for a full time position in the production department. As the current Assistant Production Manager and Casting Assistant of The Studio Theatre, I continue to grow as an administrator, an individual and an artist thanks to the support of The Studio Theatre community."
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