Featured Theatre Alumni

Olivia Anderson is an actor and writer, who received her B.A. from George Fox in acting & directing in 2015. After graduation, she attended the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. competing in the national Irene Ryan competition. She was honored to spend one year serving as the adjunct director for University Players, the university’s traveling storytelling ensemble. In 2019 she completed a yearlong apprenticeship with Bag&Baggage through their Emerging Artists program. At Bag&Baggage, she wrote a one-hour interactive children’s play for the underserved schools in Washington County called The Helpful Little Fox Fixes the Forest Grimm, which she produced and performed in along with her three fellow Emerging Artists. In 2019 she was delighted to work with Penguin Productions, playing the role of Juliet in Romeo & Juliet. Olivia is currently pursuing her MFA in Screenwriting from Stephens College, which is dedicated to getting more women involved in television/screenwriting, and to making Hollywood a kinder place. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, and expects to receive her MFA in May 2020.

Sarah Aldrich is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of George Fox University with a degree in Theatre and an emphasis in acting and directing. In school Sarah was awarded the Ethel D. Ankeny acting scholarship and was nominated twice for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Irene Ryan award. Through George Fox she was honored to be a small part of the first new play commission with the Big Bridge Theatre Consortium and Arlene Hutton. Sarah has a special affinity for classical acting, performing most often in Shakespearean productions around Portland. She has worked with companies like Portland Actors Ensemble and Experience Theatre project; most recently portraying Adriana in The Comedy of Errors. Sarah recently began working with University of Portland to develop their new Simulated Health Program. She helps the nursing students to cultivate an empathetic and therapeutic approach by portraying various patients and cases in a simulation setting. In 2020 you can look for her in The Harvest with Square Peg Productions, and in Twelfth Night and Perchance to Dream with Penguin Productions.

Nathanael Ayers is a theatre artist with special interests in acting, devising, and sound design. He is a graduate of PETE’s Institute of Contemporary Performance (’20), and is represented for TV, film, and print by Ryan Artists. As a student, he received a Meritorious Achievement Award for Sound Design in Deus Ex Millenia, and was a regional finalist in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship in 2018. Since graduating from Fox, he has performed with Broadway Rose, Enlightened Theatrics, and Outer East Arthouse. The time he spent learning under Rhett, Bryan, and Cristi shaped him profoundly as an artist and human, and he is forever grateful for the care, wisdom, and good humor that they continue to impart.

“I can only tell my story, what you believe is up to you.” - Yann Martel, Life of Pi

Tara Beanblossom, originally from Los Angeles, performed as an actor & singer on stage and television for 13 years before moving to Oregon and obtaining her degree in theatre performance from George Fox University. There she earned two Irene Ryan nominations, the Most Improved Theatre Artist award (’07) & the departmental Outstanding Senior Award (’08). Tara has since appeared in productions with multiple Portland-area companies, including Lakewood Theatre, Stumptown Stages, and Valley Repertory Theatre, as well as multiple world-premiere readings of new works. Tara currently lives in Newberg with her husband and two children.

Micah Beauvais: (he/his) is a Chicago Based actor. While at George Fox University, Micah attended the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. and competed in the National Irene Ryan competition. After his time at GFU Micah trained at the National Theatre Institute Conservatory. His most recent credits include Merchant of Venice at Rasaka Theatre, Legally Blonde at Paramount Theatre, Christmas Mubarak at Silk Road Rising, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown at Drury Lane and the Workshop/World premiere of new musical Other World by Tony nominated writers Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell. Micah is also represented by Stewart Talent

Cora Beeman (she/her) received her B.A. from George Fox University and predominantly focused on acting and designing. She had the pleasure of acting in Sunday In The Park With George (Freida/Betty), Deus Ex Millennia (Addison), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Puck). She also designed lights for Our Town and received a Meritorious Achievement Award for her sound design of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime. She is now the technical director for Woodburn High School (OR). She is making her Portland design debut as the lighting designer for Rutabaga Story Company's An Irish Exit and the lighting and sound designer for Square Peg's production of The Harvest. She is excited about what the future holds for her career, potentially including grad school for ministry or for theatre. But only time will tell what is to come!”

Aaron Cooper Swor: (he / him) is a Portland-based actor. He graduated from George Fox with his B.A. in Theatre in 2013. Since graduating, he has taken classes at Curious Comedy Theatre and Artist Repertory Theatre. In 2018-2019, Aaron was a member of Third Rail Repertory Theatre's mentorship program, which got him back into the theatre after taking a 4 year break. Most recently he's been seen in A Clockwork Orange (Alex) with Bag&Baggage Productions, Everything You Touch (Victor) with Theatre Vertigo, and The Harvest (Josh) with Square Peg Productions. Outside of the theatre, Swor has built a career in Talent Recruiting and LGBTQ+ advocacy work.

Jennifer Davies graduated from George Fox University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music (minor in Theatre: Acting). She completed her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from Portland State University, and since then has been an active teacher, adjudicator, and performer throughout the Portland-metro area. Jennifer has performed with local companies such as Portland Opera, Opera Theater Oregon, Broadway Rose Theater, Lakewood Theater, Stumptown Stages, Pixie Dust Productions, and Staged. As a teacher, Jennifer is an active member of the Cascade Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. In addition to being a private voice teacher, she has led both voice and acting classes for numerous theater companies and schools in the Portland-metro area. She is a founding member of the Shelton Performing Arts Alumni and acts as coordinator for their yearly Summer Musical Theatre Intensive in conjunction with Anna’s Bay Center for Music. This spring, Jennifer will be performing the role of Janet Van de Graaff in the musical The Drowsy Chaperone at the Historic Elsinore Theater in Salem, OR.

Chloe Dawson is currently the Resident Stage Manager at Penguin Productions in Newberg and has also had the pleasure of working with companies such as Hand 2 Mouth, Enlightened Theatrics, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Broadway Rose, and Sherwood Foundation for the Arts. She got her start stage managing at George Fox University, where she studied the ever-relevant combination of theatre and social work.

JeanneAnn Faris is a director, lighting designer, and actor. She completed her BA in Theatre at George Fox University while also participating in the Honors Program. Portland-area credits include Assistant Director at Third Rail Repertory Theatre (Lungs), Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble (Uncle Vanya), and Penguin Productions (Romeo and Juliet), Production Assistant at Profile Theatre with Ping Chong + Company ((Un)conditional), and CoHo Productions/Institute for Contemporary Performance (Lost. Found.) At George Fox she was the Director for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Living Out, and Falling, the Lighting Designer for Jane Eyre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and an Actor in The Government Inspector (Dobchinsky), Tongue of a Bird (Dessa), and The Balkan Women (Female Chorus). Most recently she has been the full-time theatre teacher at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Orange County, California.

Tiffany Gilly graduated from George Fox in 2014 and is currently an MFA Acting student at Louisiana State University. Recently, she was featured in an interdepartmental film at LSU while also working on the role of Louise Heindbedder in The Fox on the Fairway at Theatre Baton Rouge. She recently played Ani/Sasha/Callie in Gloria at the Swine Palace. Other favorite acting credits include Juliet (Romeo & Juliet; OPS Fest Portland), Lotte Grimm (Lotte Grimm’s Cinderella; Bag&Baggage Productions), Lady Chiltern (An Ideal Husband; Penguin Productions), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream; OPS Fest Portland), Hermia (AMSND; Outer East Arthouse), Shelby (Steel Magnolias; George Fox University), and Katherine (Taming of the Shrew; George Fox University). Tiffany is also a vocal/dialect coach, playwright, musician, and will soon be certified to teach Seven Pillars Acting, by Sonya Cooke. After grad school, Tiffany plans to move to Chicago to pursue working with the Goodman Theatre and Second City, eventually hoping to make it as a regular on Saturday Night Live. www.tiffanygilly.com.

Emily Harmon-Watilo (Theatre Management: 2011) graduated from George Fox with B.A. in Theatre (Acting/Directing) and a B.A. in Spanish. Additionally, she received her M.A. in Arts and Cultural Management from King’s College London (2020). During her time as an undergrad, Emily focused on stage management and credits include; one-acts, Doubt, and The Diviners, for which she received a Meritorious Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and was also an active member of Alpha Psi Omega. Following graduation Emily worked with fellow George Fox alumni at Valley Repertory Theatre, as well as stage managing various productions at Portland Musical Theatre Company. Emily has worked professionally at Broadway Rose Theatre Company as the Group Sales Manager, and more recently as Assistant Stage manager for Mamma Mia! and Up and Away.

Cambria Herrera is a director, community arts organizer, and MFA candidate at UC San Diego. While at George Fox, they directed The Balkan Women (2016) and were twice awarded as the top student director in the region at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region 7. In Portland, Oregon they co-founded The AGE Theatre Collective to empower the resiliency of female and non-binary theatre artists of color. They worked administratively in patron relations and marketing at Kitchen Theatre Company (Ithaca, New York), Milagro (Portland, OR) and Profile Theatre (Portland, Oregon). Recent credits include: World Premiere Adaptation of King Arthur at Long Beach Opera (Assistant Director), Yellow, Yellow, Yellow at Red Balloon Theatre Collective (Director and Co-producer) Romeo and Juliet at Penguin Productions (Director), Peter/Wendy at Bag&Baggage Productions (Tiger Lily), and As One at Portland Opera (Assistant Director). More information about their directing and community arts work can be found at CambriaHerrera.com. Cambria is a AGMA Union Member.

Kacy Hughson is an alumna of George Fox’s theatre department and is in her fourth year working at the university. She is also the resident lighting designer for the Wilsonville High School drama department and the lighting designer for the George Fox University Music Department Christmas Concert. She has also been the assistant technical director at Broadway Rose Theatre Company in Tigard which she will continue with this upcoming summer. In addition, she has worked with Buds Lites, a lighting rental company servicing the greater Portland area, as well as with the former Valley Repertory Theatre Company as a lighting designer and their technical director. This past summer, she and her husband welcomed their first child Shana with whom she now spends all her spare time in addition to their cat, dog, and turtle.

Cyndi Kimmel (Actor: 2010) has a BA in Theatre Performance and Spanish from George Fox University, and an M.Litt and MFA in Shakespearean Literature and Performance from Mary Baldwin University. During her time at Mary Baldwin she focused on theatrical translation of Early Modern Drama, and helped present and performed in a new translation of Lope De Vega’s Fuente Ovejuna. She currently lives and works in Richland, WA as a Bilingual Teaching Artist for various schools, and as the Box Office Coordinator for the Richland Players Theatre. Cyndi has enjoyed a variety of performance and directing roles with different companies in the area, including Olivia (Twelfth Night), Ariel (The Tempest), Mistress Ford (The Merry Wives of Windsor), Emilia (Othello), Paul (Happy Birthday Wanda June), Boy (codirector), Vanities (director), and The Comedy of Errors (co-director). Apart from her theatre work, Cyndi also volunteers as a Spanish/English medical translator for different clinics in her community.

Jeremy McCamish a 2012 graduate of the George Fox Technical Theatre program, is the current Automation/Controls Manager of LA ProPoint in Sun Valley, CA. After receiving his MFA in Stage Automation at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, he became an Automation Engineer at LA ProPoint, where he learned to design, build, and program Automation Controls cabinets for many applications. Some of the most notable projects that he has worked on are: Fast & Furious - Supercharged at Universal Studios Orlando, Superman 360: Battle for Metropolis at Warner Brothers, World Abu Dhabi, and most recently the SoFi Stadium. He thanks God for the amazing support given by his wife, Amy (Crites) McCamish, another George Fox Alumni, his daughter, Evelyn McCamish, and son, Seth McCamish.  He hopes to use the opportunities that God has given him to be a light in the entertainment industry.

Audrey O’Farrell has directed and produced The Harvest with Square Peg Productions as well as directed two play for the Fertile Ground New Works Festival, The Ways We Cope (Red Ballon Theatre Collective) and I'm A Slut, Sababba. Additionally she has completed the Third Rail Repertory Theatre Mentorship Program and assistant directed the following show; Our Ruined House (Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble), The Revolutionists (Artist Repertory Theatre). John (Third Rail Rep), A Midsummer Nights Dream (Anonymous) and 4.48 Psychosis (Red Balloon Theatre Collective). While attending George Fox Audrey acted in a number of play and directed the main stage show Tongue of a Bird as well as a second stage show Lovers. 

After graduating in 2009, Stephen Pick co-founded and ran a nonprofit, Valley Repertory Theatre, for many years. He then went on to earn his MFA in Directing and Certificate in Arts Administration from Boston University.

Most recently he has returned to the Pacific Northwest, and serves as Executive Director for Journey Theatre Arts Group, a nonprofit theater ministry dedicated to helping youth and their families grow in character and purpose in authentic community.

Stephen and his wife, Jessie, just celebrated ten years of marriage and live in Ridgefield Washington with their two little girls, Madelyn and Lillian.

Alyssa Ridder is a costume designer currently pursuing an MFA in costume design at The Pennsylvania State University School of Theatre. Upon graduating from George Fox University in 2015 with a BA in theatre design and technology, Alyssa returned to serve as a costume shop manager, a guest designer, and an adjunct faculty member for several years. Alyssa has designed for companies around Portland, Oregon including Broadway Rose, Metropolitan Performing Arts, Teatro Milagro, Staged!, and Defunkt. Alyssa’s passion for theatre and design is in re-inventing old works in dramaturgically exciting ways and she enjoys writing about the design process. Her writing has been featured in The Theatre Times, in the peer-reviewed journal Performing Ethos, and at the Mid-America Theatre Conference.

Ian Rutledge graduate from George Fox University in 2015. Since then, Ian has had the pleasure of working with various small theaters throughout the Willamette Valley and touring for three years with Shining Light Ministries as their Acting Director and lead technician. Within a year of graduating from Fox, Ian was hired by the Oregon Ballet Theatre in Portland Oregon as their Audio/Video Coordinator for ballets including William Forsythe’s In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated and Kevin Irvings Swan Lake. In 2017 Ian joined the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) as a stage manager and continued his work at OBT on productions including Pink Martini’s Never Stop Falling in Love and Septime Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland). Ian is currently the Production Administrator at OBT and lives in Beaverton OR, with his wife.

Sydney Thiessen received two Bachelor's from George Fox University, in Theatre and Cinema Media Communications. Since she was a freshman in high school, she has enjoyed working behind the scenes, as a crew member, stage manager, and designer. Sydney received several awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) throughout her time at George Fox, for design and stage management. In 2016 she was awarded KCACTF's top lighting design in Region 7, and attended nationals at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Sydney currently works at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon, as their Fine & Performing Arts Coordinator and Technical Director. She manages their arts building, and designs lighting and sets for 3 theatrical productions a year. Working alongside stagecraft classes to realize those designs, she teaches students valuable collaboration and technical skills.

In the summer of 2019, Sydney interned with PLA‌ Designs, a theatrical consultant firm, exploring her desire to design arts buildings and theatres.

Her portfolio can be seen at SydneyThiessen.com.

Cydney Thompson graduated from George Fox University in 2015 with a Bachelor’s in History and a Bachelor’s in Theatre. Inspired by her involvement in technical design at GFU, Cydney worked designing museum exhibitions for the Franklin County Historical Society in Pasco, Washington from 2015-2017, before moving to Dublin, Ireland to do a Master’s in Public History and Cultural Heritage at Trinity College Dublin. During her Master’s Cydney again focused on museum exhibition design, and currently has two exhibitions on display at Dublin Castle. Following the completion of her Master’s, Cydney worked at the Chester Beatty Library, managing their collection wide digitisation project. Cydney then worked as a stage technician for the Abbey Theatre. Cydney is currently employed at the National Gallery of Ireland, again managing a digitisation project, and is set to start a PhD in the fall of 2020, again at Trinity. She is deeply grateful to the GFU Theatre department for all of the incredible training she received that has so deeply impacted her life and career.

Caleb Thurston is a theatre educator and director residing in Salem, Oregon. While at George Fox University, Caleb received three Irene Ryan nominations and was recognized for meritorious achievement in directing for The Diviners. From 2011-2015 he served as co-founder and executive director of Valley Repertory Theatre in Newberg, Oregon. Caleb currently serves as theatre teacher and director at Woodburn High School where his favorite directing credits include Matilda, Seussical, Triangle, Peter and the Starcatcher, Sin Miedo and La Gringa, among others. He has also taught theatre classes at St. Helens High School, C.S. Lewis Academy, West Salem High School and George Fox University. He was nominated for a PAMTA award for his 2019 direction of Newsies for Journey Theater. Caleb’s favorite challenges include collaboratively devising new works of theatre that cross language and cultural barriers. His most prized role is playing dad to Alice, Elizabeth and Laura and husband to Heidi (class of 2012).

Matthew Tibbs teaches at University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), leading the Sound Design and Technology program--one of the leading theatrical sound BFA/MFA programs in the nation. His more than 100 sound designs include As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, and Shakespeare in Love at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, The Cay at Indiana Repertory Theatre, Violet, Of Mice and Men, and Three Sisters at the Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville, TN, and a dozen productions for Great River Shakespeare Festival in Minnesota. Prior to his position at CCM, Matthew spent five years as sound design faculty at Ball State University.

Matthew had the honor of being selected as George Fox University’s Outstanding Alumnus in 2016. Matthew is a member of the designers’ union United Scenic Artists Local 829. He serves as the Co-Secretary for the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association (TSDCA), and he has been a regional design respondent for the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival in the Southwest for the last seven years.

Matthew lives with his wife, Beth (Cates), and sons Lucas and Adrian in Cincinnati, OH. He owes Bryan and Rhett a debt of gratitude for their friendship, support, and mentoring -- which is now the touchpoint and standard for how Matthew endeavors to mentor his own students. 

MFA: University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, 2007.

BA: George Fox University, 2004.

Work can be seen at www.matthewtibbs.com. 

Ben Tissell studied theatre at George Fox from 2007-2011. Since then he has been living and working as an actor in Portland and beyond. Ben's local theatre credits include Astoria, parts 1 & 2 (Portland Center Stage at the Armory), Peter and the Starcatcher and A Christmas Carol (Portland Playhouse), The Angry Brigade (Third Rail Rep), Ordinary Days and Fly by Night (Broadway Rose Theatre), Godspell (Lakewood Theatre), Billy Elliot: The Musical (Pixie Dust Productions at the Newmark), and many others. Ben is also a resident director at Clackamas High School, directing several productions each year there and at other local companies. In 2016 Ben started Outer East Arthouse, a faith-oriented theatre company in Clackamas, OR and he continues to serve as artistic director. Additionally, Ben records and performs regularly as a singer-songwriter. He is a member of the Actors Equity Association and is represented in the Pacific Northwest by Mitchell Artist Management (Seattle). His full list of credits, upcoming roles and projects, and music can be found at BenjaminTissell.com.

Lauren Vander Aarde graduated from George Fox University in 2019 with majors in Theatre (Acting/Directing), History, and a minor in Musical Theatre. She is an actor and singer in the greater Portland area, following a post-graduation Portland Playhouse Apprenticeship. Lauren’s selected credits include The Sound of Music (Sister Berthe), Twelfth Night (Olivia), A Christmas Carol (Elizabeth/Ensemble), The Wolves (#00), The Government Inspector (Anna), and Blithe Spirit (Ruth). The GFU Theatre Department has been instrumental in her growth as an artist. She is inspired by the Christ-centered dedication Rhett, Cristi, Bryan, and the GFU theatre faculty demonstrate to their students. She carries their practice of “servant storytelling” with her. Without GFU, Lauren’s theatre career would not be as fulfilling and faith based as it is today. Philippians 2:3

Megan Weaver is a writer-director specializing in devised and site-specific theater. She facilitates rigorous collaborations with cross-disciplinary ensembles, integrating digital media, mask, puppetry, live music and unconventional spaces to create new works. She is a recipient of the Northern Trust/Virginia Piper Enrichment Award and a Puffin Foundation grant, and her works have been recognized by the New York Innovative Theater Awards, KCACTF Meritorious Achievement Awards, Indie Theater Now, Connecticut Council on Culture and Tourism, and the Austin Film Festival. Megan is an alum of the O’Neill National Theater Institute, and has trained with The Wooster Group, SITI Company, Sojourn Theatre and Balerung Dance.  She is the former Artistic Director of Performance Programs at Mystic Seaport, and former Executive Artistic Director of FullStop Collective in NYC. BA Theatre, George Fox University; MFA Directing, Arizona State University. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Katelin Wight (Actor / Music Director: 2016) graduated from George Fox University in 2016 with a degree in Theatre.  During her time with the program, Katelin participated in seven main stage productions, including Parade, Twelfth Night, and The Spitfire Grill, received two Irene Ryan nominations, and acted in second stage projects. Katelin was also active in the music department, engaging through private vocal study, workshops, and honors recital.  For three years, she was a member of Alpha Psi Omega, the theatre honors society, serving as president her senior year. In 2017, Katelin received her Master’s Degree in Musical Theatre from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.  During her tenure in Scotland, Katelin devised and headlined a successful cabaret, and performed in two productions at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival: Into the Woods and Atlantic: A Scottish Story, which received a Herald Angel.  After living in Manhattan, Katelin recently settled in the Portland, Oregon area.  She currently runs a private vocal studio and is an active member of the area arts community as an actor, educator, and director.

Jessica Woehler is a current Entertainment Cast Member at the Disneyland Resort, most recently having been a part of the opening cast for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Before moving to Anaheim, California she spent two summers as a company member at the Davis Shakespeare Festival where she performed in repertory. After she graduated from George Fox University in 2014 she spent a year abroad in Munich, Germany where she served as actor, dialect coach, and dramaturg for the English-speaking theatre company at Ludwig Maximillian University. In addition to her work at Disney, she is active in the Los Angeles audition scene and is pursuing her MFA in Professional Creative Writing online through University of Denver. She is forever grateful for the servant storyteller’s heart that the George Fox theatre program instilled in her, along with the reminder to always keep after it.