Born and raised in a tiny Midwestern town in southern Illinois, Ashley has jumped all over the map doing what she loves most. She went to Murray State University in Kentucky for her undergraduate program. Ashley was determined that she wanted to be a dramaturg when she grew up with her love of history and theatre. But, it was after a friend asked her to stage manage his senior directing project where she was introduced to this new position. It was love at first cue. From there she focused on technical theatre classes and stage managed shows whenever available. She graduated from MSU with a double major in both theatre and history and graduated Magna Cum Laude. While at MSU she also took a two week course held in London and Dublin for theatre and studied in Germany for 5 weeks learning the language while living with a host family. Also, for the summers of 2005 and 2006, she stage managed at Stagedoor Manor in upstate New York.
Graduate school was next on the docket. Ashley was accepted into the University of California – Irvine’s M.F.A. program for Stage Management for Theatre. Ashley moved to southern California in the fall of 2006 to start classes. While in school, she was also fortunate enough to be tasked with a graduate assistantship. Responsibilities ranged from keeping track of receipts for the costume shop and production shop, managing the checking in and out of props in the prop shop, house managing music events, managing the front desk in the production office, and eventually co-teaching Drama 50E: Introduction to Stage Management. Also while at graduate school, Ashley began to freelance whenever there was an opening in her schedule. This not only allowed her to gain valuable experiences thru opportunities all throughout the LA and Orange County areas but also validated her passion for the craft.. Ashley completed her M.F.A. in 2009, graduated Summa Cum Laude and is excited to be doing what she loves most to this day. |