Ashlee
In September 2019, I submitted a grant proposal to the Provost’s Office at Western Carolina University requesting funding for a year of research and development to plan a professional theatre company in Jackson County. It was funded and the inkling that would grow into Calliope Stage began. Although starting a theater company had long been a professional vision of mine, now and here seemed right. The landscape, the people, the artists, the growth – these all seemed to converge serendipitously with an exciting intersection happening in my own professional career. Our mission to create a diverse cultural gathering space for exploring our community connections feels inextricably linked to my personal artistic perspective, and so I am eager to grow with the company as it elevates its audiences, its collaborating artists, as well as my own mind, heart, and identity. In August 2015, I moved to Jackson County from Chicago to serve on the faculty of WCU’s School of Stage & Screen. I proudly call this community my home along with my husband and young daughter, and I see the opportunity of Calliope Stage to be the greatest purpose for my time here. Through the ritual of live theatre, my vision is to create a sustainable artistic legacy for this community and the people who hold it dear and to echo these stories beyond the peaks of WNC.