This year we welcome a new faculty member, Elizabeth Sullivan, as she fills the role as our new Theatre teacher.
There is a certain kind of love that only those pursuing the same career they wanted to as a child have: “I actually remember the very moment that I decided [to pursue theatre], I was watching the show at the Topeka Performing Art Center when I was eight years old, and I just remember realizing, ‘Oh, I think I could do something like that,’” she says.
Eventually, Sullivan arrived at Emporia State University. She says, “[I] chose them because they had a really great theatre program. I really liked how supportive they were … I really loved how they embraced all areas of theatre … It gave me a greater appreciation of the entire art form of theatre and what it really takes to put it together and to respect others in those positions.”
Looking at the big picture, Sullivan “tried out for the Seem-To-Be-Players.” She says, “It was a touring children’s theatre company that was very popular in the ‘90s and early 2000s. It was created by Rick Averill … During that tour, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I wanna keep hustling as an actor,’ because it takes so much. You have to audition so much and nonstop to be an actor, and I really wanted to have a family too,” she says.
From there, Sullivan began working at the Art Center “and started to fall in love with directing.” She was particularly intrigued by children’s theatre for many reasons: “[It had] this sense of play that I just love. I feel like I’m [still] a child at heart … There’s this playfulness and innocence of how I see the world sometimes,” she says. She decided to pursue higher education: “I ended up getting into Arizona State University for theatre for youth for an MFA. Only three schools in the whole United States have that degree, and they only take four people each year,” she says.
Flashing forward to now, she says, “I have a six year old [and] a family. And theatre [and] … working events, [takes up] a lot of nights and weekends … My daughter’s so young, and I want to be able to spend time with her.”
Today, she says, “Coming [to Seabury], I’m able to have time with my family, still do theatre and get to be with kids―all these wonderful things that I’ve wanted to do.”
After the fall plays’ success, it is obvious that Seabury has gained a skilled set of hands and, more importantly, a friend with contagious passion for the theatre world. Welcome to Seabury!
