Emma Schillage graduated less than six months ago from Loyola University Department of Theatre Arts & Dance. She has wasted no time entering the New Orleans professional theatre world. As of this weekend, she finished up her run as the Provost in The NOLA Project’s production of Measure for Measure and will take no break now that it is has closed, jumping into stage managing the NOLA Project’s Sleepy Hollow. On top of her nightly NOLA Project duties, Schillage is also a member of the Southern Rep Acting Company and a teaching artist with their educational programs at the Jewish Community Center by day.
Schillage (Left) in Measure for Measure
In her time at Loyola, she worked on numerous productions, accruing credits in acting, assistant directing, designing, and working on various crews. Some of her favorite credits include: Jenny in The Christians, Queen Elizabeth in Richard III, Somebodies in Everyone, and Babs in Life Sucks. Her summers at Loyola were just as busy as her semesters. Schillage trained at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting in Physical Theatre and at The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Shakespeare Studies.
When not working on shows or teaching, Schillage focuses on writing and developing her plays, one of which was performed in a staged reading for her senior thesis at Loyola. “Playwriting is something that kind of snuck up on me,” she notes. “I didn’t know that this was something I really wanted to pursue until my senior year of college. I’ve always loved to write and I’ve always loved storytelling. Playwriting is the best because you are writing characters and situations that real living people will hopefully one day get to inhabit. They aren’t meant to just be words that exist on a page. As the playwright you are the one that gives them the tools and the material to bring it to life. That part of the creative process is fun, and I realize now that I have a lot of stories I want to tell.” Because of her newfound love for this, Schillage plans on attending graduate school to pursue playwriting. She is extremely grateful for her time at Loyola and is excited for this next chapter in her life. Loyola is proud you, Emma!
By Madeline Taliancich