Meet Our ROE Apprentices

Meet Our ROE Apprentices

WAM Theatre is thrilled to be working alongside a team of talented emerging theatre artists in the creation of our upcoming online production of ROE.  We asked them to share a little about what informs and inspires their work:

Catherine Dickerson (she/her/hers)

Assistant Director & Acting Apprentice

I am working from Albany, having just graduated from University of Albany with a double major in Theatre and Psychology.  Theatre, like many other fields, is a service. My ultimate goal with theatre is to create equitable opportunities that serve marginalized communities and shift stories of the marginalized to the mainstream. I love being able to have a hand in both technical and performance aspects of theatre because it allows me to learn more about the entire process. With Acting I’m able to transform and step away from my own life. Assistant Directing has allowed me to understand just how many moving parts there are to a piece of work, which has been eye-opening. Both areas of theatre make me feel like a true collaborator and I’m grateful for that. 

Tatiana Godfrey (she/her/hers)

Assistant Dramaturg

I am a theatre maker currently pursuing an MFA in Dramaturgy at UMass Amherst.  My brand of dramaturgy is informed by my background as a classically trained actor, improvisational comedian, educator, and black woman. These intersecting identities provide me with a unique perspective to bring to performance.  My process involves 1) listening 2) asking questions 3) Not being afraid to chime in. Because of COVID, I’m working from my home in Ohio. I think having to work virtually has necessarily forced people to think outside of the box in the creative process, which has been exciting to see and participate in. 

Learn more about Tatiana’s work: http://www.godfreytatiana.wixsite.com/tatianagodfrey

Elisabeth Castellon Goncalves (She/her/hers)

Sound Design Assistant

I love how sound enhances the mood and tone of the play. I’m currently a theater student at the University of Massachusetts.  I was interested in doing something other than acting and when I heard about the opportunity of being a sound designer for this project, I was excited! I had worked with [Sound Designer] Amy Altadonna before for a production called Queer and Now, and I really liked the process of it, so I thought I could learn even more about sound design with this play. And I was right. I have learned so much and still have much more to learn.

Ashley Lewis (she/her/hers)

Assistant Stage Manager

[As a Stage Manager] I love being so heavily involved in the show. I am going in with a very open mind, because this will be the first time I’m working on a show completely virtually, but I will use my organization skills and my time management skills to navigate through this process. I will get a first inside look of what the new future of theater could possibly look like and that is pretty exciting. I believe that we should all be activists. There will always be someone to fight for and theater is a great way to show people’s stories, to get political and to push the envelope on what entertainment should be. Theater is not always here to make people feel comfortable and I enjoy that. I believe ROE is the perfect example of an idea and story that is advocating for women’s rights. It may not make everyone feel comfortable but it has a message to share. 

Calypso Michelet (she/her/hers)

Assistant Costume & Scenic Designer

Creating worlds has always been a passion for me. Designing sets and costumes allows me to bring to life old and new stories, through materials, textures and colors. I love reading a play and imagining how a certain piece of clothing could give a deeper identity to a character, or how a particular prop could let the audience know more about the world we are entering. I like to think that I create visual clues to expand a story beyond the text, to invite the audience into a complete microcosm. I believe it is now more important than ever to show how Art, and Theater in particular, is such a powerful medium to reflect on actual world matters. It is also necessary to keep connecting, sharing, and creating with other people. With ROE, I felt like my little quarantine bubble finally exploded to bring me back into the world, to give me a chance to act upon what’s happening in our society.

Learn more about Calypso’s work: https://calypso-m.wixsite.com/portfolio

Frida Swallow (she/her/hers)

Assistant Lighting Designer

There is a call by multiple artists of note in the theatre landscapes for the accountability of white led organizations to offer mentorship and advocacy for the careers of young women of color by lifting them up into positions of emerging leadership. WAM is honored to have the opportunity to take up this call and forge mentorship with these six emerging theatre artists as they launch their careers. We thank the Brabson Library & Educational Foundation, who have made it possible for this to be a paid opportunity for our apprentices.