Graduates from the UMBC theatre department win awards for film performances, work with Cirque du Soleil, become program directors for satellite radio, serve as wardrobe assistant for a reality television show, run their own theatre companies, become award winning high school teachers. Their careers reflect the wide range of skills that one learns as a theatre student. We've featured just some of them below.

If you are a UMBC theatre alumnus and would like to send us an update, please use our Alumni Update form.

Alumni Spotlight

Kara Lee Corthron, 1999 Kara Corthron is a playwriting fellow and playwright-in-residence at the Juilliard School under the direction of Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang. She is the recipient of the Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award. She won the 2007 Theodore Ward Prize for African-American playwrights for her play Like a Cow or an Elephant, the 2006 New Professional Theatre Writer's Award, a Rodgers-Guettel grant, and twice received the Lecomte du Nouy prize. Kara's plays have been developed at HERE Arts Center, Voice & Vision, the Juilliard School, and the New 42nd Street Studios. She was recently chosen by Washington D.C.’s African Continuum Theatre to be part of their 2007-2008 Fresh Flavas New Works Program.

Chas Argent, 1988
Technical Director at Center Stage. Formerly, Technical Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Alan Aymie, 1993
Teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District.
His play, RAP, was produced at the Zephyr Theatre, L.A. 2003.

James Brown-Orleans 2005
Professional actor currently in the touring production of The Lion King.

Vanessa Buono, 2001
Received MFA in Acting from Purdue University. Formerly a ember of the Berubians, a successful improv troupe in LA. Roles on ER, American Dreams, All of Us. Currently School Programs Manager at The Shakespeare Company in Washington, DC.

Donnie Canetti, 2003
Drama/theatre arts teacher of Pre-K through 6th grade at Montebello Jr.
Academy in Baltimore City.

Gary Corbin, 1982
After leaving UMBC, I was forced to face a harsh reality. The world of theater, television and motion pictures is very hostile towards artists with disabilities. While at UMBC, I was called a "campus star" by many for my lead performances in plays like: Dutchman, The Man Who Came To Dinner and Five On The Black Hand Side. I left believing that losing my leg to cancer in 1975 and walking with a full artificial right leg was simply an inconvenience. Fortunately, I was able to tour the country performing theater designed to educate people on the plight of persons with disabilities and special needs. I also became the first Director of Performing Arts Programs at The Maryland State Arts Council. But the desire to act would not leave me. As a result, I decided to create opportunities for myself by combining both my talents as an actor and playwright with my arts administrative experience. The result was workshops, and training at prestigious venues like: The Negro Ensemble Company, Dixon Place, Performance Place 122, The Frank Silvera Writer's Workshop, and The National Black Theater Festival. Consequently, I formed my own production company in New York called The Arts Den New York. As a result, I wrote, starred in and produced my one-man play, FOUR ONE-LEGGED MEN. FOUR ONE-LEGGED MEN received The Gregory Millard Fellowship from The New York Foundation For The Arts, a Theater Commission from The New York State Council on the Arts, and Individual Artist Award in Playwriting from both the Maryland and New York State Council's on the Arts, The Performance Art Fund from The Franklin Furnace Foundation administered by Jerome Foundation, two Community Arts Grants from The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and was recently nominated for the prestigious Lambent Fellowship administered by the Tides Foundation. It has been performed to wildly enthusiastic audiences at: the 10th Annual New York International Fringe Festival, in Montreal, Buffalo, Staten Island and Off-Off Broadway in Manhattan's Theater District. It has also received rave reviews. Future performance include: Australia, San Francisco and plans are underway to move it to Off-Broadway. In addition, The Arts Den New York is now a member of The Alliance of Resident Theaters where I have been hailed as one of the "theater leaders of tomorrow". For more information, please contact 212-929-4825; www.garycorbinactor.com/theartsdennewyork and a Google Search of - Gary Corbin in Four One-Legged Men.

Kara Lee Corthron, 1999
is a playwriting fellow and playwright-in-residence at the Juilliard School under the direction of Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang. She is the recipient of the Helen Merrill Emerging Playwrights Award, 2006 New Professional Theatre Writer's Award, a Rodgers-Guettel grant, and twice received the Lecomte du Nouy prize. Kara's plays have been developed at HERE Arts Center, Voice & Vision, the Juilliard School, and the New 42nd Street Studios.

Kenny Curtis (former theatre student)
Program Director of XM Kids, Senior Director of Speciality Programming, XM Satellite Radio. http://www.xmradio.com/programming

Tammy Dygert, 1993
Dramaturg, Hippodrome State Theatre, Gainesville, Florida.

Steven Fleming, 2007
I was just hired as the Theatre Arts teacher for Oakland Mills High School in Howard County. I will be teaching three drama classes and two English classes.

Katie Fraser, 2004
Accepted to Goldsmiths University of London in the MA program in Contemporary Aproaches to English Studies.

Carl Freundel, 1985
Head of Acting, Howard Community College.

Deborah Green, 2000
Working actress, most recently seen on N.Y. stage in the premiere of Kia
Corthron's play, Dual, at Sanctuary Playwrights Theatre. Deborah also
performs in film and has had roles in Sex and the City.

Marianne Hayden, 2002 and
Jennifer Servary, 2003
While Linehan Artist Scholar Marianne Hayden is completing her graduate studies at California Institute of the Arts, she has had time to win the Best Actress Award at the 2000 Screamfest Horror Film Festival in Los Angeles for her performance in the new film, Ghost Watcher. Two other stars of this film are recent graduates Jennifer Servary and UMBC Linehan Artist Scholar, Jillian Byrnes. GhostWatcher also won the Best Film Award at the 2003 Maryland Fantastique Film Festival. For more information and a short view of the film, go to: http://www.ghostwatchermovie.com/.

Jan P. Hughes, 1981
For years, Jan owned his own production company in Chicago which won over a dozen National and International Awards for Video and Satellite Production on five continents, including an International Television Association Gold Award for Special Effects. He was awarded the "Top 100 Producer of the Year" in 2000 by AV Producer Magazine. He was recently hired by the governor of Illinois as Division Manager of Illinois Information Services and produces the governor's press events, public service announcements, video news releases, web, radio, digital photo and print communications.

Paul Kelm, 2003
Assistant Technical Director, Round House Theatre, Maryland.

Kay Kostopoulos, 1972
Kay Kostopoulos has a BA from UMBC, and an MFA from A.C.T, San Francisco. She acts and sings professionally, and has been instrumental in the creation of many new theatrical works. Her website is www.blackolivejazz.com

She has performed at Stanford University Summer theatre for four seasons, and at the San Francisco and California Shakespeare Festivals, where she also served as Director of Education. Kay conducts private independent workshops, master classes for theatre educators, and individual coaching sessions for both the professional actor and the public speaker.

Kay directed and taught in ACT’s Advanced Training Program for six years, where she also served on the M.F.A. committee. Kay currently directs and teaches undergraduate Acting, Acting Pedagogy for graduate students, and Voice and Speech at Stanford University, where she has taught for 10 years. She participated in an educational alliance between Stanford, Princeton and Yale and was directly involved in the conception, planning, and voice performances featured on their educational web site. She also teaches adult students in Stanford’s Continuing Studies Program. Kay has also taught at City College of San Francisco, Santa Rosa Jr. College, the American Musical Theatre of San Jose, Dominican University, De Anza College; coached for the National Association of Speakers, and served as language coach for many independent theatre companies.

Nancy Krebs, 1972
Nancy has forged a career of professional acting, singing, teaching, song-writing and recording. She has released 6 full length CDs of original spiritual inspirational music since 1998, has served as a voice instructor at the Baltimore School for the Arts Theatre department since 1981; and has a solid reputation as a dialect/vocal coach for numerous professional theatre companies in the region. She is a Master Teacher in the Lessac Kinesensic Voice and Body Training, and just recently completed teaching a One Week Lessac Introductory Workshop at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA; the One Week Teacher Training Workshop and the Four Week Lessac Summer Intensive at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. You can reach her at www.nancykrebs.com

Sarah Landbeck, 1999
After graduating with her MFA in wigs and makeup from North Carolina School for the Arts she worked two years at Arena Stage. Sara is now living in NY, working a permanent swing position on "Beauty and the Beast" and working weekends on Saturday Night Live.

Sheila Lopez, 1992
Sheila Lopez graduated from UMBC in 1992 and earned an MFA from the Yale School of Drama in 2002. She is the Founder and Executive Director for Antecesores, a New York-based non-profit theatrical organization that offers educational programs and projects to study history, literature and performing arts of América latina; performance programs to reaffirm the Latino culture and people; and theatrical productions to provide a unique exposition of cultural and linguistic experiences in Spanish for everyone.

Antecesores was conceived as a pro–active response to an important challenge faced by the communities in Erie County, New York, where Latino youth lacked resources to ensure the continuation of their ancestral histories and cultural heritage, and where the community at large lacked mediums to learn about the contributions and embrace the richness of the diverse Latino cultures in this area.
http://www.antecesores.org/

Dennis Marsico, 1984
Actor at Walt Disney World at MGM studios in Orlando, Florida.

Jessica Mateluvich, 1996
Jessica is directing the theater program at Reservoir High School in Howard County, MD. She received an award for directing the Outstanding Comedy from the Maryland State High School Theatre Association 2003. Recently(2007) accepted into UMCP's Ph.D. program for speech and theater

Dolores McBride, 1991
Attorney in the office of the Public Defender in Denton, Caroline County, Maryland.

Matt McGloin, 2005
Stage credits following graduation from UMBC include:
The Tempest (Virginia Shakespeare Festival)
The Complete Works of Shakespeare [abridged] (Virginia Shakespeare Festival)
Huck Finn's Story (Imagination Stage)
Faust (Synetic Theatre - 2006 Helen Hayes nomination, Best Ensemble)
The True Tragedy of the Mortician (Odyssey Productions, Capital Fringe Festival '06)
Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major (Kennedy Center)
Cinderella (Olney Theatre Center)
Kiss Me, Kate (Washington Savoyards)
The Lathe of Heaven (Spooky Action Theatre)
The Blue Lagoon (Capital Fringe Festival '07)
UPCOMING:
As You Like It (Folger Theatre)
Teddy Roosevelt... National Tour (Kennedy Center)

Erica McLaughlin, 2006
Erica McLaughlin has continued acting and puppeteering since leaving UMBC. She was recently featured as an actress/puppeteer at the African Continuum Theatre in the world premiere of "The Oracle" by Ed Shockley, with Searls Puppetry in the Baltimore Dance Project's "Strange Soup" at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore and at Liberty Showcase Theatre in "A Midsummer Night's Dream". She also recently served as a guest artist at the Stage Door Conservatory teaching Master Classes in Puppetry. Erica is a continuing student at the Shakespeare Theatre Master Acting Classes in Washington, DC.
Erica's play "Love and Wood" played to full houses at the Inaugural Capital Fringe Festival (2006), and was later produced by Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. The play first debuted in the Wednesday Reading Series at UMBC, which Erica founded while she was a student.
Erica is also an advocate for young people and civil rights, serving as a member of the National Board of Directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the world's oldest and largest civil rights organization. She made national news this summer when she delivered the historic obituary for the "n-word" at the organizations national convention.
Erica currently serves as Managing Director of the Unmentionable Theatre Company, founded and managed by UMBC alumni. Also a web designer, her work can be found at her own site: www.ericamclaughlin.com

Eric Millman , 1994
Graduated with an M.S. in Pastoral Counseling in 2005. Currently works at Jewish Addiction Services in Baltimore, MD.

Steve Moore, 1988
Director of Legal Affairs at Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

Aaron Moss, 2007
I am currently pursuing a M.F.A. in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, where I received a full academic scholarship. After graduating from UMBC, I filmed a commercial and recorded a voice-over for the anthology Santi: Lives of Modern Saints--due to be released internationally this winter (amazon.com). At Yale, I have worked on Richard II at Yale Repertory Theatre--a multi Tony Award, Critics Circle Award and Helen Hayes Award winning theatre.
Upcoming projects include: A Woman of No Importance (Yale Rep), Dancing in the Dark (Yale Cabaret), Taming of the Shrew (Illinois Shakespeare), Titus Andronicus (Illinois Shakespeare), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Illinois Shakespeare).

Karen Murphy (Foltz), 2001
Costume Assistant with Baltimore Opera Company.

Matthew Myer, 2004
I am now the Director of Central Maryland for a program called Drama Kids International. It is a wonderful program for youth between the ages of 5 and 17. We are a developmental drama program whose purpose is to develop confidence, acting abilities and skill in verbal communications. It has been a wonderful and rewarding experience working with the students to help them become more confident and skilled young people.

Susan Orinsky (Aaron), 1989
Has worked at The Source Theatre Co. in DC, The Patuxent Theatre Co. in Columbia, MD, and The National Theatre in Washington, DC. Currently a happy stay-at-home mom.

Brigitte Pribnow, 2005
Brigitte Pribnow is currently serving as the Producing Associate at Young Playwrights' Theater (YPT), the only professional theater in Washington, DC dedicated entirely to arts education. YPT connects students, teachers, actors, playwrights and professional theaters in order to create new plays that reflect the intimate voices of their communities, with a particular focus on the diversity of voices that make up the American experience. http:/www.yptdc.org

Brigitte is also the Artistic Director of Baltimore's Unmentionable Theatre, a non-profit theatre company founded by UMBC alumni Paul Becker, Eric Messner, Robert Ulmer, Gbenga Idowu, Peter Pugliese, Gedalya Chinn, and Benjamin Pohlmeier in September 2002. The Unmentionable Theatre is a producing theatre company dedicated to creating affordable, living art of both social and personal value that not only inspires thought and feeling, but provides audiences with the rare and wonderful sense of community unique to live theatre. http:/www.unmentionable.org

Jennifer Rade, 1990
Costume Designer/Wardrobe Stylist, who has worked with Marilyn Manson, Eminen, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dr. Dre, the Dave Matthews Band, and Will Smith. She's just been nominated for a costume Designer's Guild Award for the Best Comercial Design for the Ipod campaign. And she's hosted 18 episodes of the reality show, "Live Like a Star" for Fox TV.

Deborah Randall, 1994
Founder and executive director of a thriving company, Venus Theatre, Washington, D.C. Her recent production of Ugly Ducklings was nominated for the American Theatre Critics Award. With that show, Deb produced and directed a cast of 13 women, 8 under the age of 18. Recent graduate Paul Kelm designed and built the production, also receiving critical acclaim.

June Reich, 1988
General Managing Editor, Women and Performance, A Journal of Feminist Performance.

Trevor Rick, 2001
Actor in Spiderman II.

Carolyn Spedden, 1983
Artistic Director of the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Vanessa Strickland, 2006
Performing with Classika Theatre, Arlington, VA.

Stacy Teague, 2002
Head of Wardrobe, touring with Cirque du Soleil's Varekai.

Les Williams, 1991
After graduating UMBC I continued studies with Sanford Meisner and Martin Barter in Los Angeles. Then I was invited to be a member of the Sanford Meisner Theatre Company. Here I was able to hone my craft and created several roles in original plays. One of the most notable performances was in Lynn Mamet's "The Walking Wounded".

I have worked on several television shows and film. The most recent "Play the Game" where I shared the screen with Andy Griffith. I am currently in production with "The Ghastly Love of Johnny X" www.JohnnyXMovie.com.

I am also the Executive Producer of "Kiss the Bride", www.KissTheBrideMovie.com. Starring Tori Spelling, JoAnna Cassidy, Robert Foxworth, Tess Harper. Opening in theatres April 18, 2008.

In 2007 I created my own production company Silver Lake Pictures. I am currently in pre-production on the film "ReleVance" based on a story I wrote and am the screenplay co-writer.