Meet Our 2017-2018 Horizon Apprentices!

Meet the company!  This year we welcome eleven Actors, four Playwrights, one Stage Manager, and our first ever Producing Apprentice.

Alexandra Catlin [Actor Apprentice] is an Atlanta native, and graduated with a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre at Western Carolina University. In addition to acting, Cat is trained in stage combat and is certified in Unarmed and Single Sword stage combat through the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD). At Western Carolina, she worked as a fight captain for several shows, including King Lear. Cat also enjoys journaling, and has written several plays, including a children’s play entitled The Spot.

Felix Crutcher [Playwright Apprentice] is a Huntsville, Alabama native and has recently graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a B.A. in English, Theatre. His first ten-minute play was produced at UAB and received a staged reading at Horizon Theatre during the New South Young Playwrights Festival (2016). Now, as a playwright apprentice at Horizon, he looks forward to expanding his knowledge as a writer and as a professional artist. In addition to writing, Felix enjoys practicing yoga and meditation, learning how to write code, and playing all the board games/puzzles. He also has an interest in mixing music and DJing in the future. After the apprenticeship program, Felix hopes to pursue an M.F.A. in Playwriting.

Ellen Curry [Stage Manager Apprentice] grew up in New Orleans, LA. She attended the University of Georgia, where she had the opportunity to study abroad in London, and recently graduated with a B.A. in Theatre. She has previously worked with Theatre NOW New York, The Space London, Alliance Theatre, Southern Repertory Theatre, Rivertown Theaters, Rose of Athens Theatre, and Two Left Feet Theatre Company. Ellen also has a passion for immersive theatre experiences, and aspires to one day direct an immersive production of A Streetcar Named Desire in her hometown of New Orleans.

Miranda Dyer [Actor Apprentice] recently graduated at the top of her class from The Professional Actors Training Program in Chattanooga, TN, where she trained in improvisation, dance, and performed in many musicals. Miranda also regularly practices yoga, and aspires to become a certified instructor.

Chasity Evans [Actor Apprentice] is a proud Atlanta native. She graduated from Spelman College this year with a B.A. in Drama and Dance, and has won performance based awards in local competitions. Chasity has traveled to Brazil, France, and China for educational studies, and has even traversed the country’s Great Wall! She enjoys dancing and writing plays centered around social activism from a feminist perspective.

Jake Jessup [Actor Apprentice] was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and raised in Johnson City, Tennessee. He attended Greensboro College and is currently working towards obtaining in M.F.A. in Acting from Minnesota State University, Mankato. He has a passion for road-tripping, and has traveled to the Grand Canyon and the Great Salt Lake.

Jerron Johnson [Playwright Apprentice] is a 2015 graduate of the illustrious North Carolina A&T state university where he obtained a B.F.A. in Theatre and wrote, produced, and directed his first stage play, Straw Dogs. After graduating, Jerron relocated to Atlanta where he continues to pursue his career as an actor, playwright, and director. Jerron is also interested in pursuing motivational speaking in the future.

Sloka Krishnan [Playwright Apprentice] is a Midwestern transplant interested in magic; extravagance; ritual; and the disavowal of moral purity and coherent identity. In the DC area, Sloka‘s plays have received readings by the Rainbow Theatre Project and as a part of Forum Theatre (Re)Acts, and he was a 2017 Lambda Literary Fellow in Playwriting. Sloka‘s work has been described as subversive, multilayered, and eviscerating (by a boy he once slept with) and as darkly surreal comedy (by a legitimate online publication). During the day, Slokaworks in fundraising for an immigrant rights nonprofit.

Amy Levin [Actor Apprentice] is an actor/singer/sound designer from Decatur, GA, and holds a degree in Religion and Theatre from the University of Georgia. Amy has done several shows in and around Atlanta since graduating in 2015 and won the Metropolitan Atlanta Theatre Award for Best Sound Design of a Musical for her work on The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical at OnStage Atlanta last year. Amy is a jazz singer/musician with a yet-to-be-named vocal group, and she recently recorded and mastered and album for local Renaissance Fair favorite, The Shenanigans. Check out www.amyllevin.com for more!

Erika Miranda [Actor Apprentice] graduated with a B.F.A. in Acting from the The Theater School at DePaul University. Her love for movement encouraged her to deepen her yoga practice and embrace DePaul’s very own Movement to Music. Her passion for the classics led her to further study Shakespeare at LAMDA where she received her certificate in Performance of Classical Text. Erika has performed both Shakespeare and World Premieres on stages of some Chicago’s cherished storefront theatres. Most recently, Erika moved to Los Angeles to shoot Act II of The Gallows, a sequel to the WB New Line Cinema film. She also worked with the the team at Echo Theater in L.A., that premiered Bekah Brunstetter’s The Cake.

Maariyah “M.F.” Espinoza [Actor Apprentice] is an actress, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She was born in Los Angeles, CA, and raised in Marietta & Kennesaw, GA. She received her B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from Columbus State University and was an intern with the Alliance Theatre in the Theatre for Youth and Families program. When she’s not at Horizon, she’s engaged in her own creative projects, including the production of her first EP “Internal Reflection”, artist management, and studying other great artists of differing mediums to grow her expressions in a higher direction.

Heather Pharis [Actor Apprentice] is from East Dublin, GA, and recently graduated from Berry College with a B.A. in Theatre. While at Berry, she had the honor of being nominated for the Kennedy Center’s Irene Ryan Award four times. Heather also enjoys the visual arts, and has a passion for painting, crocheting, and creating collages using mixed mediums. When not engaging her artistic interests, Heather spends her free time watching M*A*S*H and ogling over her cat, Walter Kanye O’Reilly.

Jocelyn Rick [Playwright Apprentice] is a writer originally from Meadville, PA, who made the awesome mistake of living in the culturally burgeoning Pittsburgh and befriending far too many actors. Before graduating from Point Park University with a degree in Screenwriting, she served as a literary intern for the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO). She has recently relocated to Atlanta from Orlando where she resided for the last year to live out her childhood dream of working in Walt Disney World. Jocie currently works remotely as a story analyst for Readers Unlimited providing coverage on screenplays and teleplays in addition to relentlessly coercing her hands to transfer the rest of her own untold stories to paper.

Russell Scott [Actor Apprentice] is a theatre artist from Marietta, GA. He recently graduated from the University of Georgia where he studied Risk Management and Insurance and Theatre. While in college, Russell toured with the University’s premier choral ensemble, The Hodgson Singers, in several cities across Eastern Europe. Russell is also an athlete, and competes in regional tournaments for racquetball. In the future, he would like to pursue his photography skills, adding to his slate of lifestyle and event photography, and professional headshots.

Katherine Smith [Actor Apprentice] is a 2016 graduate of University of Northern Iowa’s Theatre Performance program. Born in Memphis, TN, but raised in Iowa, Katherine was eager to return to her Southern roots post-graduation and to begin her pursuit of her career as a performer. Katherine was a proud recipient of various acting and academic-related scholarships in college. However, her most recent distinction is “Best New Character,” awarded to her by her fellow street performers at the Georgia Renaissance Festival where she performs improvised interactions as an original character. Kat enjoys similar work as children’s fairytale characters in festivals, charity events, and parades.

Justice von Maur [Producer Apprentice] is from Nassau, Bahamas, and recently graduated from Wake Forest University where she studied History, Theatre, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS). She was a Presidential Scholar for Distinguished Achievement in Theatre at WFU and devoted much of her extracurricular energies to various aspects of theatre including acting, stage management, and producing. Outside of theatre, Justice enjoys writing poetry and being active through yoga and contemporary dance. She also loves animals, and currently works at a doggy-daycare.

Alexis Young [Actor Apprentice] is a Georgia native from Ellaville. She has a B.F.A. in Theatre, Communications, and Media Arts with a concentration in Performance from Georgia Southwestern State University. While at Southwestern, where she served as class representative for three years, Alexis took part in a cultural experience program in Shanghai, China.