Sean Taylor 2016 BFA in Performance
Millions of viewers made the Netflix reality series The Circle into one of the biggest hits during the pandemic, and Sean Taylor was a contestant. Sean remarks, “It changed my life and my social media following. Now I have 300,000 followers across the different platforms, primarily TikTok and Instagram.” She focuses “on plus size fashion, body positivity and the fashion industry in general.”
Like so many of theatre folk, Sean started dancing when she was four. “When our families were together, I was always the kid who would organize my younger cousins to put on a play.” She continued her love for theatre at high school in Northern Virginia, where she played the lead in their production of Hello, Dolly.
Her attraction to VCU also included the city, “As someone who grew up in the suburbs, Richmond had its own personality. It felt like the campus was connected to a creative city.”
Sean moved to NYC right out of college and began working in plus size fashion. “I couldn’t see myself auditioning.” She became a stylist and media manager for the company, “which got me more into social media and content creation and the influencing world.”
She had already created a small following for herself, when a casting person asked her to audition for The Circle. Sean recalls, “I thought, this is crazy and doesn’t sound like a real thing.” They shot in Spring 2019 and when dropped on Netflix, it became hugely popular.
Sean describes the show, “Everyone lives in separate rooms and interacts via a fake social media profile. You create your own profile, and people are voted out each week.”
In summer 2021, Sean moved back to Richmond with her fiancé and dog. She’s also started a group that includes plus size parties and clothing swaps. “I always thought about Richmond, that it’s big enough and small enough at the same time. You can get something going easily and people will find out about it.”
Because her Netflix show aired during the shutdown, she muses, “I wasn’t experiencing it in real life, but through my phone. I look forward to creating experiences here in person.”
Compiled by Liz Hopper (professor emeritus) and Jerry Williams (BFA ’71) for the November 2022 Theatre Alumni newsletter