Gillian Mackay-Smith ’04 is an actor in the Boston area. She has performed regionally with the Lyric Stage Company, Bad Habit Productions, Fresh Ink Theatre Company, and Apollinaire Theater Company, among others, and devised work with New Exhibition Room and Project: Project.  She appeared in the web series Conversations From The Afterlife and the feature film The Beverages, for which she received the award for Best Supporting Actress at the 2009 British Film Festival Los Angeles.  She was nominated for an Independent Reviewers of New England Award for her performance in Apollinaire Theater Company’s production of Greenland and an ArtsImpulse award for her work in Fresh Ink Theatre Company’s The Housekeeper.  She reads with Rhombus Playwrights Group and has sat on the boards of Fresh Ink and Gurnet Theatre Project.  While at Northeastern, she was the 2003 recipient of the Eugene Blackman Scholarship for Excellence in Theatre.

“I am extremely grateful for my undergraduate education at Northeastern.  I was given so many opportunities to learn and explore my work as an actor in a practical environment while simultaneously being challenged intellectually in an academic space.    Exposure to design, dramaturgy and stage management in addition to my acting studies provided me with a greater ability to collaborate professionally and a greater respect and reverence for the art form.  When I enter a rehearsal space, I am prepared and ready to work.  I learned a sense of humility, gained a groundedness and drive; I learned that I am always learning.  My career as an actor would not have been possible without my educational foundation at Northeastern.”

Joey Frangieh ’12 is a director, designer, producer, and the founding artistic director of Boston Theater Company. He was the youngest person to ever direct at the historic Shubert Theatre, when he directed the world premiere of Finish Line, a documentary play about the 2013 Boston Marathon that he devised himself. He has worked on Broadway as the assistant projection designer for On Your Feet: The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan and Allegiance a new musical chronicling the Japanese Internment. 

“Getting a theatre degree from Northeastern was an invaluable experience. The eclectic coursework gave me a well-rounded theatre education and the opportunity to taste many different aspects of theatre. My classes were all taught by top notch professors who help prepare me for the real world. The theatre department helped me grow as an artist in ways I could have never imagined. Many of the experiences and lessons I learned at Northeastern have time and time again proven to be incredibly valuable in my professional work. I went into college unsure of how I fit into the world of theater and I left ready to tackle my career ambitions head on.”

Kevin Deane Parker ’15 received a 2016 Arts Impulse nomination as Best Stage Manager for Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them at Company One. While studying industrial engineering at Northeastern, he found his home in the theatre department. Multi-faceted and interested in all things backstage, Kevin has worked with Huntington Theatre Company, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Boston Children’s Theatre, Bad Habit Productions, Actors Shakespeare Project, Theater Offensive, Ogunquit Playhouse, A.R.T. Institute, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Wooden Kiwi Productions, Argos Productions, and Boston Theater Company. Immediately upon graduation, he served as Technical Director for the Gloucester Stage Company. Favorite projects include stage managing BHP’s Gross Indecency (IRNE Award – Best Fringe Production) and technical direction for Company One’s The Flick (Norton Awards for Outstanding Design and Production).

“The theatre department at Northeastern provided a laboratory for me to not only learn theatre-specific skills, but to apply engineering to a creative setting. My particular interest is translating the principles of industrial engineering (reducing cost, increasing efficiency) to the complex world of theatrical production. The theatre faculty always supported my efforts. Theatre co-ops allowed me to take on projects where I applied these experiments in professional theatre. I was able to develop a cross-departmental relationship at Northeastern that wouldn’t have been possible with other theatre programs or universities.”