Theatre & Dance Scholarships

My name is Evaya Gonzalez and I’m from Waukesha, Wisconsin. I’m a senior with my major being in BFA Acting with a minor in Arts Management and I’m set to graduate in the spring of 2024. I’m hoping to be able to travel and go wherever a contract may take me. I want every possible opportunity to try new plays, new characters, and new techniques. I’m so grateful to the Stages to Equity scholarship because it means that people not only want the arts to succeed but also want the artists themselves to have the means to try their shot at success and to thrive and grow as artists. There are so many favorite memories from my time here at UWSP but I would have to say my favorite is from being in Murder on the Orient Express playing Princess Dragomiroff. Getting to play with a new accent, Russian, was so fun. Plus getting to work with an amazing cast! Before shows and later in the rehearsal process, we began to speak/react to each other in our dialects/characters in the “normal” world before the events of the play. I had a fur collar as part of my costume, and it became a pre-show ritual for everyone to pet the fur collar that we named Mittens for good luck before getting on stage. Since we had fabulous run, I’d like to think it worked!

My name is Vanessa Guillen and I am a fourth-year student at UWSP studying Musical Theater with a Race and Ethnicity Studies minor from Kewaunee, Wisconsin! My graduation is set for the Spring semester of 2025 as I studied Biochemistry for two years before switching to the Theater department. I plan to hopefully pursue some semblance of professional acting work, but would also be very passionate about working with theaters in broadening DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging) practices. The scholarship meant that I could focus more time on just being a student and growing in my craft. Throughout my years at UWSP, it has been a struggle being a full time student with 16+ credits most every semester, holding two jobs minimum at a time to be able to support my living expenses, and still fitting in time to be involved in numerous extracurriculars. My favorite memory of this department is the time we as students spend together waiting at callbacks. Even if we don’t get a part in that production, the time spent together growing closer and finding similarities between ourselves, even in a “competitive” environment, has been something I have always treasured.

My name is Serena Alexander. I’m from Nashville, Tennessee, and I’m a junior majoring in Drama and Psychology. After graduating in Spring 2025, I intend to pursue directing and stage management, starting in New York or Chicago. I love innovative new work, and I’ve been deeply inspired by the art developing in both cities.  Receiving the Stages to Equity Scholarship has certainly helped sustain my personal pursuit of art, but it means so much more than that. When I found out donors like you had broken the threshold for endowment, I was incredibly moved, before even knowing I was among the award recipients. It’s all too easy for minority students—particularly students of color—to feel overlooked, under-represented, and isolated, and I see the Stages to Equity Scholarship as a concrete, actionable step toward mitigating that. So thank you for your generosity. You’ve shown that minority students are valued in this community and that we can enact meaningful change together.

My name is Kaia Fitzgerald (she/her) and I’m from St. Paul, Minnesota. I am currently a senior and will be graduating spring of 2024 with a BFA in Musical Theatre. After graduation I hope to move to New York City and continue working professionally (regional theatres, national tour, cruise ships, Broadway). The Stages to Equity scholarship has given me the platform to continue working towards and diversifying my craft. Allowing me to take my education into my own hands. For example, one of my most cherished memories here was when I was given the opportunity to put on a presentation showing the beauty of American Sign Language in the theatre. This was made possible with the support from the department, support like the Stages to Equity Scholarship.