Undergraduate Spotlight: Olivia Parker
“Performance Studies is a broad interdisciplinary field that uses performance as a lens to understand the world and the humans that inhabit it,” says Olivia Parker, a Performance Studies major minoring in both Film and English, and part of the graduating class of 2022. Texas A&M is one of the top schools in the state and Parker was able to experience that greatness through the particularly fertile and exciting field of Performance Studies while enjoying a variety of sub-topics involving cinema and English literature. For Olivia, it was important to not be limited to one area of theater but to be exposed to everything that connects and gives meaning to it and to gain a broad working knowledge as she prepares for a career. In her time here, she has completed two independent studies, gained hands-on experience in the department’s scene shop, and directed two shows. She even finished two LAUNCH theses.
Olivia mentioned some of the classes that gave her a deeper love for PERF. For instance, Dr. Ball’s PERF 303 course (Creating Performance) directed her towards devised theater. PERF 301 (Performance in World Culture) with Dr. Regan opened her up to influential new forms of music which now inspire most of her own work. “This program has made me a more conscious performer, a confident artist, stronger communicator, and a better writer. I am beyond grateful to all of the faculty and staff for mentoring me over the last four years.”
After graduation, Olivia will be applying to pursue an MFA (Master of Fine Arts degree) in physical/devised/contemporary theater where she hopes to continue to learn and collaborate within the professional world.
