THEATRE

Founded in 2016, the Rhodes Theatre Guild (RTG) is an entirely student-run organization dedicated to promoting the art of theatre amongst the Rhodes College community as an outlet for student-lead productions, workshops, and projects. Following the closure of the college’s theatre department in 2021, the Guild has grown to fill its shoes, becoming the sole entity committed to keeping theatre alive and flourishing at Rhodes College.

With the black-box stage of the McCoy Theatre as its canvas, RTG works tirelessly to produce at least two full-length shows each academic school year, as well as a myriad of other small-scale events and opportunities for student engagement. Past productions include Urinetown, Radium Girls, Alice By Heart, Mystery at Greenfingers, and Amélie.

I began her true theatre career with the Rhodes Theatre Guild in 2022, when I, a first semester freshman, was brought on as costume designer for Wire In The Garden. At the time, the Guild was quite small, still reeling from the closure of the college’s theatre department a year prior, and Wire In The Garden marked its second-ever forte into a full-length and fully produced show on the McCoy’s stage. The following spring semester, I joined them again as costume designer for Once Upon A Mattress, a show which would ultimately bring the organization into a new phase of growth and discovery.

Following Once Upon A Mattress in the spring of 2023, it become apparent to the Season 7 Executive Board that there were some changes that needed to occur. Namely, the role of Production Manager, which had before overseen the entirety of the backstage elements of the production, was far too much for any one student to take on. Instead, a new role was created: the Technical Supervisor. 

I was elected to this position the year it was introduced, making me the first Technical Supervisor in RTG history, a position I would hold until my graduation in 2026. Beforehand, the organization had focused its endeavors primarily on performance , hosting acting and directing workshops and script read-throughs, and putting on shows where the actors were forefront. With how RTG was growing at the time, I recognized that the way the organization was conducting tech needed to change, and with the help of the then-President, Kathryn Dressel, and Production Manager, Annie McLean, I refashioned the Guild’s process of recruiting students to designer and tech crew positions, and built from meager foundations a resilient technical team, spreading my own love for technical theatre to a talented and viciously dedicated group of collaborators.

As Technical Supervisor (TS), I was charged with managing, organizing, and ultimately leading nearly all the technical elements and members of tech crew for each RTG production. More often than not, my time was dedicated to aiding our scenic designers (when I, myself, was not filling the role) in the drafting of designs and blueprints, the allocation of materials, and, most importantly, the construction of the set itself. While I was not the official designer for many of the sets I helped build, my involvement and insight—particularly in shows as Alice By Heart, Radium Girls, Urinetown—into their rendering, drafting, and construction, was indispensable. Even when my influence over the designs for a show’s set was less pronounced, I was still the foremost person charged with their construction.

Past Work

• Fools (Fall 2023; TS)

• The Magic Tower (Fall 2023; Scenic Designer & TS)

• Amélie (Spring 2024; TS)

• Mystery at Greenfingers (Fall 2024; TS)

• Alice By Heart (Spring 2025; TS)

• Radium Girls (Fall 2025; TS)

• Urinetown (Spring 2026; TS)

• Once Upon A Mattress: Youth Edition (ongoing; Scenic Designer)

I began my college theatre career as a costume designer for Wire In The Garden in 2022, for which I was nominated for an Ostrander. Though I was elected to the position of Technical Supervisor for RTG’s Season 8 (2023-24), I continued to work as costume designer and the Guild’s resident costumer until I graduated in 2026, designing for all but one show (The Magic Tower, scenic design) over the course of my four years at Rhodes College. My dedication to and love of costuming and technical theatre was recognized by members of the theatre community, and I have had the opportunity to work with several other organizations and theatre companies throughout Memphis.

Past Shows:

• Wire In The Garden* (Fall 2022; Costume Designer)

• Once Upon A Mattress (Spring 2023; Costume Designer)

• Fools (Fall 2023; Costume Designer & TS)

• Amélie (Spring 2024; Costume Designer & TS)

• Mystery at Greenfingers* (Fall 2024; Costume Designer & TS)

• Alice by Heart (Spring 2025; Costume Designer & TS)

• Dance Nation* (Spring 2025; LoneTree Live; Costume Designer)

• Hadestown: Teen Edition (Summer 2025; GCT; Assistant Costumer)

• Radium Girls (Fall 2025; Costume Designer & TS)

• Urinetown (Spring 2026; Costume Designer & TS)

* Ostrander nominee