Alumni Notes Best Series nominations, and she recently
teach, write, and act in North Carolina. Paul
received an Award of Merit for Best
is slated to do Barbecue, by Robert O’Hara,
Supporting Actress from the Indie Film
at The Public Theater this fall. ● James
Fest. In her local school district Malia
Shanklin ’97 worked with Katherine Heigl
Lewis ’97 has been leading a working
on NBC’s State of Affairs. He also worked
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group on career and technical education.
with Hal Linden in The Twenty-Seventh
Her long-term goal is to turn the after-
Man at The Old Globe Theatre in San
school stage crew club into an academic
Diego and is beginning his third season on
program which would provide graduating
the AMC network show Hell on Wheels. ●
seniors with both college credits in
After teaching in Los Angeles for the last
technical theatre and some sort of
16 years, Gregory Berger-Sobeck ’98
industry-recognized certification. In order
joined the acting faculty at YSD, teaching
to determine whether local high school
acting for film. When he is not teaching at
students are adequately prepared, she sat
Yale (spring semester) Gregory is back
in on the IATSE hiring hall exam for Local
home in Los Angeles teaching at the Berg
48 in Akron. She also helped hang several
Studios, which has received accolades
operas at the Cleveland Institute of
from Backstage Magazine for best scene
Music and taught the lyric sopranos the
class and classical class. He is also back in
importance of wearing shoes during
New York once a month to teach an
load-in. ● Amy (Cronise) Mead ’97 and
ongoing class. ● All Things Chicken, a
Michael Port have co-founded Heroic
29-minute film written, directed, and
Public Speaking. They teach the art of
produced by Julius Galacki ’98, based on
performance—from stagecraft to
a play that he wrote at YSD, had its world
content creation to rehearsal and
premiere at the Green Bay Film Festival on
performance in the context of public
March 8, 2015. The film was also an
speaking—to individuals, small teams, and
official selection of the 300 Minutes
corporations. Amy and Michael are building
International Film Festival in Karlsruhe,
a team of other exceptionally well trained
Germany, the Tenerife International Film
performers (including Yalies and NYU Tisch
Festival, the ReelHeart in Toronto,
faculty members.) ● Obi Ndefo ’97,
and the Columbia Gorge International Film
YC ’94 is currently working with other YSD
Festival. The script won Best Short
graduates in the Los Angeles area on the
Screenplay at the Firereel Film Festival and
development of the arts foundation Arts
took third place at Vail; and the score by
Alliance for Humanity, which ties together
Ben Wise took third in the Global Music
the efforts of individual arts educators and
Awards. Julius just finished a full-length
artists in the entertainment industry
script called Limping Towards Babylon that
under one nonprofit collective. Arts Alliance
he’s developing with an ensemble of actors
for Humanity supports arts education in
for a future production. ● Mahayana
schools and independently produces
Landowne ’98 performed an interactive
new works for theater, film, and television.
piece called Red Carpet at the Edinburgh
The first production for the nonprofit
Fringe Festival last summer where
collective is the television series Juice Bar
she asks strangers if they want to be
(Spring 2016). ● Paul Niebanck ’97
interviewed. People loved participating.
played Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s
Mahayana also worked as a Drama
Dream with the North Carolina Symphony:
Desk nominator and watched over 255
orchestra, choir, actors, and 1,600 people
plays in 10 months. She saw lots of work
on their feet. Paul got to see Janet
produced by YSD alumni. ● In June and
Allard ’97 and Josh Foldy ’98 who live,
July 2015, Olusegun (Segun)
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