“I will never forget the moment when I first discovered my love for Shakespeare. We were reading Macbeth in my freshman acting class and my teacher Ashlee said, ‘This language is so beautiful, and we do not get to use it everyday, so enjoy it.’ That changed my world. From that point on, I read as much Shakespeare as possible, saw as much Shakespeare as I could, and even found a Shakespeare-related internship. I will miss moments like that in class because they happen everyday in both academics and arts.”
Congratulations to Theatre Department senior Caitlin Morley!
“Having the opportunity to play challenging roles outside my comfort zone and 'type' has been the most rewarding part of my arts education at The Academy. Struggling to play a role like “Caliban” in "The Tempest", and the feeling after every show knowing I successfully performed such a difficult role is very rewarding. Having intellectual discussions with teachers has been the most rewarding part of my academic education. The teachers at The Academy really want to listen to you and help you improve.”
Caitlin urged incoming students to not resist growing and changing throughout their time at The Academy, and to fully immerse themselves within the arts community.
“As an incoming freshmen, I wish I knew that it was okay if my interests changed. I went into my freshmen year thinking I wanted to be a contemporary actor, but over these past four years I have developed a passion for directing and Shakespeare. Also, I would urge other students to see as many shows as you can. Everyone here is so incredibly talented. It is an honor to be an audience member to their work.”
She’ll never forget Theatre Department rehearsals, especially from her first play as a member of The Academy ensemble.
"I’ll always remember rehearsing for my freshman year Spring Play "Learned Ladies". The play featured a huge runway for a stage, and each cast member had to pick a song to walk down the runway to. The first rehearsal, our director told us she was gonna play all the songs we chose and everybody had to dance like no one was watching. It was the most fun I have ever had in a rehearsal. It was ridiculous!"