I am dedicated to investigating how contemporary theatre represents identity and creates community. Through my research, I explore how gendered representation, adaptation of genre and engagement in fandom shape perceptions of identity in musical theatre. During my time as an English Major and Theatre Minor at Princeton University, I have presented at the American Society of Theatre Research and the Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium. I am additionally a co-author of a chapter in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Screen-to-Stage Musicals with Stacy Wolf and Lindsey Mantoan that analyzes the experiences of high school actresses cast as iconic cinematic characters.
As a playwright, dramaturg and director, I simultaneously pursue these questions through creative practice. My current playwriting project, Quite Contrary, stages a gothic-fantasy reimagining of the life of Mary Shelley to explore loss and legacy in the context of female creation. I am especially interested in how theatrical engagement can extend beyond the stage, shaping the communities that connect around performance. I have explored this work through positions with The American Repertory Theater, The McCarter Theatre and Princeton’s Program in Theatre.
I aspire to a career in academia that allows me to utilize interdisciplinary research and practice to explore how theater can exist as a site for personal discovery and unexpected connection.
EXPERIENCE
SEPTEMBER 2023
Artist-Scholar Exploration Begins
From my first days at Princeton, I was eager to investigate theater’s contemporary cultural prominence and impact, prioritizing opportunities to build connections between my coursework and engagement in theatrical production across campus.
FALL 2023
Artistic and Audience Development for New Comedy Musical
In the fall of 2023, I served as the assistant director for Ship Happens: A Crusical, an original comedy musical by Princeton’s Triangle Club, which premiered at the McCarter Theatre before embarking on a student-led national tour. I later acted as the club’s PR Manager, researching venues and creating and distributing promotional materials.
MARCH 2024
Fantasy Play Licensed through YouthPLAYS
Originally workshopped as part of the 2020 Eugene O’Neill’s Young Playwrights Festival, The Stories of Myth was released for licensing through YouthPLAYS in 2024. A one-act fantasy play about a life-changing encounter between a young socialite and a mysterious circus performer, The Stories of Myth has been praised as “Mysterious, Empowering and Utterly Charming.”
APRIL 2024
Playwriting Course for High School Artists
As part of Princeton’s Splash Chapter, I developed and led “From Page to Stage: All Things Playwriting.” In this interactive seminar, high school students analyze and discuss the prominence of new theater in America, and are led through creative exercises, eventually developing and staging their own short plays. Through my two years of teaching with Splash, I brought the course to over 60 students.
MAY 2024
In the Footsteps of Mary Shelley
Ever since reading Frankenstein in high school, I’ve been captivated by the life and legacy of Mary Shelley. In my freshman year, I decided to utilize the resources around me to develop a dramatization of the incredible young author and her legendary Creature. I began this process in 2024 with a research trip to Europe where I immersed myself in the landmarks of Shelley’s life and explored the world in which her iconic story began.
SUMMER 2024
Regional Artistic & Administrative Fellowship
In the summer of 2024, I received funding through the Bernstein Arts Leadership Fellowship to engage in regional theater work as an Artistic & Administrative Fellow at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA. Projects included creating dramaturgical materials for Romeo and Juliet (dir. Diane Paulus), working with the executive team to identify and evaluate applicable candidates for open positions and providing additional support towards the development team for the production of the A.R.T. 's annual Gala and opening night of Gatsby: An American Myth.
SEPTEMBER 2024 - PRESENT
Community Coordinator for Princeton’s Program in Theater
Through my role as a Student Community Coordinator, I am deeply engaged in connecting the Program in Theater at the Lewis Center for the Arts with students across campus. In addition to representing the Program at events throughout the year, including bi-annual online panels for interested high school applicants, I craft and release weekly emails to promote the Program’s offerings and opportunities to a wide student audience.
SEPTEMBER 2024 - MAY 2025
Theater Coach for Trenton Youth
With Trenton Youth Theater, I was honored to act as a coach and mentor to Trenton High School students who traveled to campus for weekly theater classes. Through devising activities and acting coaching, the year was filled with creation, fun, and incredible growth.
FEBRUARY 2025
BroadwayCon Panel Moderator
Looking to inspire young theater-lovers to give voice to their stories and explore the creative side of theater through playwriting, I organized and moderated “The Next Stage: Playwriting Paths for Student Artists” at BroadwayCon 2025. Panelists included Director of Education of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center Sophia Chapadjiev, Broadway playwright Max Friedlich, Executive Director of The Blank Theatre Bree Pavey, and playwright and director Reva Stover.
APRIL 2025
Director of Horror-Comedy Musical
Through directing Team Starkid’s fan-favorite The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, I explored how to immerse an audience into a piece that oscillates rapidly between outrageous comedy and cosmic horror. During production, I prioritized developing new partnerships between Princeton’s musical theater group and other campus communities, contributing to an electric sold-out weekend run.
APRIL 2025
Quite Contrary Invited Reading
In spring of 2025, I organized and produced an invited reading of Quite Contrary through the Program in Theater. Receiving peer and faculty feedback was invaluable to developing the next drafts of my gothic reimagining.
JUNE 2025 - PRESENT
Artistic & Community Engagement Fellowship
In the summer of 2025, I began my work as an Artistic & Community Engagement Fellow at the McCarter Theatre. Under the supervision of Debbie Bisno, Director of University & Artistic Partnerships, I identify and strategize pitches for direct outreach for students, faculty and community partners throughout the year. Through this role, I established and co-created McCarter MustReads, a partnership between McCarter and Princeton’s renowned Labyrinth Bookstore, now in its second year. I additionally co-developed the McCarter Student Ambassador program and now act as the student leader for a cohort of seven undergraduates who connect with and promote McCarter events to the campus community.
NOVEMBER 2025
Paper Presentation at American Society of Theatre Research
In the fall of 2025, I presented work as an invited member of the American Society for Theatre Research’s Undergraduate Research Working Group. My paper analyzed the evolution of queer presence within Little Shop of Horror, from the musical’s original characterization of Audrey II to the alien plant’s contemporary reimaginings.
SPRING 2026
American Sign Language Interpretation
I began studying American Sign Language in my first semester at Princeton, and in 2026, I brought my learning into the community by acting as a theatrical interpreter. In March, I interpreted a local elementary school production of Alice in Wonderland Jr. Two months later, I translated and interpreted an excerpt of Quite Contrary at Princeton’s Inaugural New Works Festival.
MAY 2026
Panelist at Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium
At the 2026 Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium, I presented on the panel “Ecologies of/in Performance.” In my paper, I built off upon my research in queer horror in musical theater to evaluate the evolving performance of ecohorror (nature vs humanity) in pieces such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Bat Boy and Little Shop of Horrors.
LOOKING AHEAD
In my final year at Princeton, I am greatly excited to continue developing my scholarly, creative and community-focused work, especially through exploring their generative overlaps. Anticipated highlights include the premiere of Quite Contrary in October at the Lewis Center for the Arts, presenting a paper on genderqueer musical monsters within ASTR’s 2026 musical theater working group, and publication as a co-author within the Oxford Handbook of Screen-to-Stage Musicals.
