Wofford College

Guided by Abigail Dillard, assistant professor of theatre, five students spent the summer as dramaturgs - analyzing texts, poring over journals and mapping Edwardian England - to inform their all-student production of "The Drowning Girls."

Nate Cole '27 placed second nationally at the National Association of Teachers of Singing auditions held at Temple University in June. He was one of only 15 students to reach the semifinals in his category (classical; lower division; tenor, baritone and bass).

Maggie Genoble '24 dives into complex ideas about the modern dilemma of bodily awareness in the digital age in her exhibition "Touchy Subjects." The exhibition is on display through Feb. 28 in the Richardson Family Art Gallery. Genoble, the 2023-24 Whetsell Fellow, will give an artist talk at 6 p.m. on Feb. 22 in the gallery. The exhibition and the talk are free and open to the public. Each year, the Whetsell Fellowship is given to a student-artist to provide mentorship and funding for a personal project. Genoble, an art history and studio art double major from Jonesville, South Carolina, took inspiration for her sculpture exhibit from Donna J. Harraway's book "A Cyborg Manifesto," which explores ideas of feminism and materialism through the lens of technology, as well as an interwoven connection between nature and machine.

Emmy Monteverde '24 is making the most of her last time around with Wofford's Pulp Theatre Interim. In addition to serving as assistant director and set designer, Monteverde, a theatre and English double major from Easley, South Carolina, plays the role of Joshua, an associate pastor, in the group's production of Lucas Hnath's "The Christians." As the only senior in the course this year, she's also taken on an extra leadership role.

Evan Bergman, visiting assistant professor of theatre, has been working with a cast of 12 and crew of 14 to make the town of "Almost, Maine" come to life on a Wofford stage. "Almost, Maine" is a magical realism production that plays on the complexity of relationships. There are eight separate scenes, each focusing on a different storyline and all dealing with relationships in the fictional town of Almost.

Maya Gentilin '24 was hoping for a passing grade for the short film she helped create as a final project for a Spanish cinema course she took while studying abroad in Granada, Spain during the 2022-23 academic year. She got that, and much more. Gentilin's film "Lost Time" was selected as one of three finalists in the IES Abroad Film Festival. Gentilin, a Spanish and art history double major from Charleston, South Carolina, attended the festival Oct. 11-13 in Chicago. She was Wofford's first finalist in the annual film festival.

The Wofford College Theatre Department's spring production of "Equus" hits the stage beginning April 20. Alex Malvern '23, an English major from Greenville, South Carolina, plays one of the main characters, Alan Strang, and describes "Equus" as a show that is about belief and understanding one another, and making one's pain mean something.

Three Wofford College seniors have contributed to telling the story of Anne Frank in a traveling exhibit that will be on campus until Nov. 19.

Early in his sophomore year at Wofford, Thomas Rowland IV '23 wrote a song about a woman and the trials of their relationship. He called the anthem "Ragdoll," and it became the first original song he performed for an audience. On April 13, Rowland will have the opportunity to perform the song for the largest crowd of his budding career when he opens for Old Crow Medicine Show at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. While he's played at colleges and bars throughout the Carolinas, this will be his first ticketed gig.

When the set designer, lighting director and the villain in Pulp Theatre's production of "The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls" have a meeting, Joanna Burgess '22 does all the talking. That's because Burgess, a physics and theatre double major from Clinton, South Carolina, has all three jobs. "These are all things I have a passion for, and it's been really fun," Burgess says. "It's been a lot of work, but we have a great crew that has helped make the vision a reality."

Before the fall semester began, Lizzie Richards '23 figured law school was in her future after she graduated from Wofford College. Working with Dr. Youmi Efurd, Wofford's curator, on a restoration project has her going in a new direction. "It took me about two seconds to sign up," says Richards, a history and art history major from Columbia, South Carolina. "I was excited, and now I want to be a conservator."

Capture the "everyday." That was one of Walker Antonio's assignments in a beginner painting class during the spring semester. What he captured expressed both the everyday and the extraordinary. "I decided I wanted to paint those who take care of not only me, but so many others every day," says Antonio '23, a studio art major from Kilmarnock, Virginia. "When times got hard due to COVID-19, these workers took extra time out of their day to ensure the safety of not just their coworkers, but the students as well."

Yasmin Lee '23, a studio art major from Columbia, South Carolina, has received two awards through the Artists' Guild of Spartanburg, and she hopes to use the recognition to better connect the college's relatively new studio art program with the larger Spartanburg community. In May, Lee received the Judy and Brant Bynum Fine Art Award for her digital collage "Solitude." The award is given to rising juniors majoring in fine art at Spartanburg's colleges and universities. Last month, she was named Best Emerging Artist by the Artists' Guild of Spartanburg.

This fall Wofford College senior Margherita Cole will display a collection of hand-drawn comic strips but with a different twist - they all portray scenes from art history. Cole, an art history major and studio art minor from Redlands, Calif., created the exhibit over the summer thanks to support from the Whetsell Fellowship.