Current MFA Students

Abigail is a playwright and actor from Richmond, Virginia. She studied Theatre & Writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is currently finishing up a Master of Fine Arts in Performance/Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University (Spring 2025). She has written six full-length scripts, four of which have been produced and/or publicly workshopped. She has also written and devised dozens of plays as a part of a theatre company (known as Short Plays for Hot Singles Near You) that she created with other UNCW Theatre students. She is honored to be teaching a Special Topics course in Playwriting this semester for VCU Theatre students. Abigail’s area of focus is project creation—encompassing playwriting, devising, viewpoints, and other methods of generative, theatrical storytelling. Her goal is to help facilitate the creation of new theatre. She also has a background in movement, having been a professional gymnastics coach and judge for the past 6 years. She has a passion for teaching and is very excited to begin her journey as a college professor!

Emily holds a BFA in Theatre Stage Management from Shenandoah University (2015). Her thesis “Behind the Backstage Bias: Paging the Gender Curtain in Stage Management” focuses on gender disparity in stage management, focusing on Broadway, regional theatre, and national tours. Through historical analysis, industry data, and personal experience, it explores the factors contributing to the underrepresentation of women and non-binary stage managers in leadership roles. The research highlights pay gaps, hiring biases, and systemic barriers while proposing actionable solutions to foster equity and inclusion within the theatre industry. Emily currently works as the stage manager/lighting designer with VCU’s Dance and Choreography Department, while also freelancing with several different theatres in the Richmond area. Her most recent work as Production Stage Manager was with James River High School for their production of Hadestown: Teen Edition. Other memorable performances are: Firebringer, Crazy for You, Holmes for the Holidays, Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood, Heavier Than…, Pulp, Guys and Dolls, and Monty Python’s: Spamalot.

Casey is an award-winning theatre educator, director, and community builder pursuing an MFA in Theatre Pedagogy and Performance at Virginia Commonwealth University. Recognized as the Theatre Educator of the Year by the Virginia Association of Theatre and Debate Coaches, Casey is a passionate advocate for inclusive, transformative theatre education. His thesis, Theatre as Sanctuary: Queer Identity, Religious Trauma, and the Path to Healing, examines the intersection of storytelling, identity, and community, with a focus on using drama therapy and forum theatre to foster healing and dialogue. As the founder and Artistic Director of New River Theatre Guild, Casey has cultivated spaces where theatre becomes a vehicle for empowerment and social change. His work extends beyond performance, integrating oral history and community engagement into projects such as queerchurch, a play exploring faith, queerness, and belonging. In addition to directing and teaching at the secondary and collegiate levels, Casey played a pivotal role in shaping the future of theatre education in Virginia, serving on the writing team for the 2020 Virginia Theatre Standards of Learning with the Virginia Department of Education. His expertise has led him to present workshops at regional and national theatre conferences, where he shares his commitment to theatre as a tool for advocacy, education, and cultural transformation.

Jake received his B.A. in Directing/Dramatic Literature from Christopher Newport University in 2022. Before joining VCU’s graduate program, he worked as a tour guide at Agecroft Hall & Gardens as well as in multiple directing and dramaturgical positions at Firehouse Theater. While in the Pedagogy and Performance MFA program, Jake served as dramaturg for the SALT production of Female of the Species and as co-dramaturg for the VCU mainstage production of Anon(ymous). As part of his graduate assistantship, Jake worked as a teaching assistant for Theatre History, Intro to Drama, and Fundamentals of Design. His final thesis project is a cross-disciplinary examination of the connection between comics and theatre. He will complete his degree in the spring of 2025.