Scholars in the Arts
"I am fascinated by the breadth of Art History and by how painting teaches a culture about itself."
Carly Andrea Todd
"As long as my career is related to theatre, I will consider myself a success."
- Alumni of: 2007 Graduate Scholarship Program
- Resides: Brooklyn , NY
- Hometown: Toms River, NJ
- Age: 28
- Community College: Ocean County College
- Four-year College or University: Drew University
- Graduate School: North Carolina School of the Arts
- Academic/Career Pursuits: Arts / Music / Performance, Literature, Media / Communications / Marketing
- Other Interests: Film / Photography, Liberal Arts, Performing Arts / Theatre, Visual Arts
Biography
Carly A. Todd, 20, fell in love with the theater, on stage or backstage, and cannot imagine any other career. She already has won a Best Thespian award for her talents and performed in ten plays while attending Ocean County College in Toms River, NJ, and compiling a 4.0 grade point average. Backstage, she has worked as a wardrobe supervisor and assistant scenic artist for five other productions. "I am unashamedly in love with theater!" she says.
Ms. Todd cannot imagine any other career but the theatre, either on stage as an actor or backstage as a scenic artist or wardrobe supervisor. She already has performed in a dozen roles, mainly for the Ocean County College Theatre, and won a "Best Thespian" award as a high school student. "I am unashamedly in love with theatre!" she wrote. "I always find myself involved in back-to-back and overlapping productions despite my complete lack of free time." One especially challenging role called for her to pose with only a piece of fabric draped around her waist. Although she even shuns two-piece swimming suits in her personal life, Ms. Todd put aside her natural modesty in favor of theatrical realism.
Carly achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average at Ocean County College and was elected to the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. She also won first place in a dramatic monologue competition and worked backstage for a theatrical company, supervising the wardrobe department and painting scenery for five productions while attending college. She intends to pursue a bachelor of arts in theatre to prepare for a career that, as she said, "enhances not only our culture but also the smile on my face." One of her professors who taught an honors course in acting said Ms. Todd held a capacity crowd in the palm of her hand in a one-woman performance while reading tragic and comic excerpts from Shakespeare and contemporary playwrights.
Another college teacher praised her academic achievements as well as her acting. "She shows insights beyond her years and miles above the work of her classmates," wrote Barbara L. Farley, assistant professor of English at OCC. "Her writing is akin to that of many essays I have read in scholarly literary journals." Ms. Todd has set modest goals for herself, however. "My definition of 'success' includes loving my career and being self-sufficient," she says. Eventually, she adds, she would like to start her own theatre company.
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