2024年4月26日

McCoy taking advantage of opportunities to develop teaching, theatre experience

作为一个七年级的学生, 比利麦科伊 accompanied her older sister on a tour of the 澳门网上博彩官方网站 campus and was so impressed that she took possession of the T-shirt given to her sister and set her sights on attending the University when her time came.

Now the native of Raytown, Missouri, is completing her sophomore year at Northwest as a 演讲与戏剧教育专业 and gaining valuable experience as she pursues her career goals. 

“It’s amazing because in a lot of places you don’t get to act until you’re a couple years in,” said McCoy who already has worked on several Theatre Northwest productions, not just as an actress but as an assistant in the costume shop.

最明显的是, McCoy was a semifinalist this spring in the annual Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition, which begins with more than 300 students competing at the regional level. After submitting a video audition that showed McCoy presenting two monologues – in her bedroom with a ring light she bought for $30 – she was announced in January as one of the 50 semifinalists to compete at the Region 5 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF)在爱荷华州得梅因.

“他们把视频放到屏幕上，澳门网上博彩官方网站都在看, and my name’s right there – 比利麦科伊 – and we’re like, 哇,麦考伊说. “We were freaking out and jumping up and down because it’s a big deal when people even make the semifinals.”

The next day in front of an audience of about 100 festival attendees, McCoy performed a scene from “Overnight” by Natalie Bates and presented her monologue, depicting a convenience store robbery in “Why We Have a Body” by Claire Chaffee.

“我很紧张，也很害怕, 但我上去了，澳门网上博彩官方网站拍了，澳门网上博彩官方网站的戏拍得很好,麦考伊说. “观众反应非常热烈, 笑, 然后我就开始了关于抢劫的独白, 人们喜欢什么.”

McCoy was not among the 16 students selected to move on to the final round of the scholarship competition but remains grateful for the experience.

“这是一次非常酷的经历，”她说. “I’m glad I did it because it makes me know, OK, I can try again next year. Now I know what to expect when I go in and we’ll see if I can do better.”

McCoy has participated in some capacity in almost every theatre production staged at Northwest since she became a student on the campus. She made her Northwest stage debut in the 2022 First-Year Showcase, an annual production that introduces Northwest audiences to some of the University’s newest stage performers and crew members. She also appeared in “Much Ado About Nothing” and “The Humans” before assisting with costumes on “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical.”

在西北剧院2023-24演出季期间, she was the associate director for the First-Year Showcase presentation of “Launch Day” and the 4月 production of “Radium Girls.” She also portrayed Jo March in “Little Women” and appeared as Clara in “Miracle on South Division Street.” The latter earned her a nomination to compete for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship again next year.

On “Launch Day,” McCoy worked alongside Professor of Theatre Dr. Joe Kreizinger and had the responsibility of directing two scenes on her own. 为了《澳门网上博彩官方网站》,” McCoy took ownership of directing five scenes while collaborating with Kreizinger on others.

“I love directing because you get to see this whole vision come to life,麦考伊说. “你脑子里有了这个想法，你喜欢这个剧本, 你觉得你可以用它讲一个故事. Then you get to cast and you get to bring all of these pieces together. 当你是演员的时候, 你看不到所有的碎片, 但是当你是一个导演, you see how it all comes together and it creates this artistic unification. It’s a really cool process to see a show come from little pieces into one big masterpiece in the end.”

Kreizinger has mentored McCoy as a director as well as her academic advisor. McCoy also works with Kreizinger as a recruitment coordinator for Theatre Northwest.

“She is so serious and so into it – and just a great, great kid,” Kreizinger said. “为了保持连续性, 经常在大学里, a director will not give specific scenes to an associate director, 但我给了她五个完全属于她自己的场景.”

麦科伊在课外也很活跃 三个项目 也是未来演讲和戏剧教育家协会的成员, 她最近被选为联合主席. 去年秋天, she worked as an assistant director at The Rose Theatre in Maryville, where she worked with children on an adaptation of “Caps for Sale” that turned the storybook into a musical.

“这太有趣了, and that was also a great opportunity for community engagement and teaching theater to young audiences, 运用创造性戏剧,麦考伊说.

今年夏天，麦考伊将参加 星光剧院鲍勃·罗尔夫实习项目 in Kansas City, Missouri, where she will help plan and implement programming throughout the summer.

她在澳门网上博彩官方网站继续她的学术工作, McCoy is looking forward to directing Lab Series productions during the 2024-25 season. 另外, she plans to work as a substitute teacher and complete her student teaching requirements during her final year at Northwest.

在澳门网上博彩官方网站完成学士学位后, McCoy hopes to teach in a middle school or high school setting while directing theater and coaching speech and debate.