Hometown: Rockville, Maryland
Career goal: to continue working in scenic production and design
What brought you to Theater Studies? Working in the shop made me realize that theater was something I wanted to do professionally—what a better way to spend your time than doing something you love, and also making a career out of it? I love the electricity of a working theater. You never get the same day twice.
Favorite memories: My first semester working in the scene shop as a freshman, it was often just me, David Berberian, and a senior guy who was also an English and Theater major. We had so much fun working on Jacques Brel. That was the semester we hung the basketball hoop in the shop—hasn’t gotten much use since, but I’m always down to play with a deflated ball.
What are you most proud of during your undergraduate years at Duke? Pulling off the set build for In The Heights as a sophomore
Why do you think the arts are essential? The arts offer community and connection—they cultivate the most human part of being human. In hard times, people turn to art to help them through; always have, always will. Art serves a vital function in keeping the humanity of the world alive—it reminds us to feel and experience the world fully, the good and the bad.
“Thanks to Dad, Belle, Katie, Gabby, Izzy, Nana and Papa, Nana (yes, those are two different Nana’s), Kiki, Sena, Mom, Waffles and Koda and Rocket—thank you for seeing me through it all. Torry Bend, David Berberian, Marcy Edenfield, Erin West, Rich Kless, Austin Powers, Scott Silver, the Duke Theater Operations team—thank you for having my back.”
- Ash Jeffers
