Joseph Austria

Joseph Oliver Austria of Hackensack, N.J. is a senior Theater major with a concentration in Tech/Design and a minor in Music. He has achieved Dean’s list and Magna Cum Laude honors.

At Ramapo, Joseph works as a Student Aide for the Theatre Department and Berrie Center. He has also sound designed for: The Fake Croatian, DNA, The Antipodes, Common Ground, and The Duchess of Malfi. He last designed the set and sound for The Wolves.

Outside of theater, Joseph is also a part of Ramapo’s choir groups CantaNova, Take12, and Chorale and is a member of FASA (Filipino American Student Association).

Additionally, Joseph has sound designed for 505 Theater Company at Urban Stages in New York putting on Sunless. He has also done freelance lighting and stagehand work for MetroMultimedia. 

After graduation, Joseph aspires to become a Technical Director and continue working in theater in any capacity whether it be designing or tech.

Joseph Oliver Austria

Joseph Oliver Austria of Hackensack, N.J. is a Junior Theater major with a concentration in Tech/Design and a minor in Music. He has achieved Dean’s list and currently has a 3.7 GPA.

At Ramapo, Joseph works as a Student Aide for the Theatre Department and Berrie Center. He has also sound designed for: The Fake Croatian, DNA, The Antipodes, Common Ground, and The Duchess of Malfi. He is currently sound designing for The Wolves.

Outside of Theater, Joseph is also a part of Ramapo’s choir groups: CantaNova, Take12, and Chorale and is a member of FASA (Filipino American Student Association).

Joseph has also worked for companies outside of Ramapo. He acted as the Sound Board Operator for the tech rehearsals of Gratitude at Urban Stages and has done freelance lighting and stagehand work for MetroMultimedia. He hopes to become a Technical Director and continue working in theater in any capacity.

Jamielynn Oliver

Jamielynn Oliver of Ogdensburg, N.J. is a Theater major with a concentration in Design/Tech. She has a 3.8 GPA. She has also made Dean’s list during her time at Ramapo. 

At Ramapo, Jamielynn has been active in several organizations and activities, including the productions of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Importance of Being Earnest, and DNA. During COVID, she worked on virtual productions where she learned OBS and Q-Lab, two digital sound editing programs

Jamielynn dreams of being a Master Electrician for a Broadway show. 

Kaden Woodward

Kaden Woodward of Sewell, N.J. is a Theater major with a Design/Technical concentration with interests in costume design and fabrication. 

For three years, Kaden advocated for LGBTQ+ rights within the Student Government Association. He is also a Student Aide in the Berrie Center’s costume shop, where he helps students learn to sew and creates garments for productions. Most recently, he was the costume designer for the fall 2020 production of The Diaries of Adam and Eve. He hopes to continue designing in the future.

Emily Weinberger

“My hope is that I can continue my work fabricating and designing scenery and props for theatrical productions,” says Emily Weinberger of Aberdeen, N.J. The Theater major has a concentration in Design and Technology and holds a 3.5 GPA.

Emily works as a Student Aide in the Theatre Department’s scene shop, and as the Stage Manager for the Fooligans, Ramapo’s comedy improv troupe. She also recently designed the scenery for Ramapo’s production of She Kills Monsters.

She previously interned for Premiere Stages at Kean University.

Bridget Darcy

Bridget Darcy of Glen Rock, N.J. is a Theater major with a concentration in design/technical theater, and history minor. She has a 3.5 GPA. Bridget has been active in the theater department, as an assistant stage manager, aide in the scene shop, and is doing the sound design for next semester’s production of The Library.

In her spare time, Bridget raises guide dogs for the blind through Seeing Eye, an organization based in Morristown, where she also serves on the executive board. She is planning to travel abroad to England to study both history and theater next year. “I hope to one day work as an audio technician for live events.”

Shannon Audet

“The Berrie Center on campus has become a place of comfort for me,” says Shannon Audet, who has taken part in the production of several main-stage performances at the College. Shannon is a Theater major with a Design/Tech concentration whose credits include lighting assistant for Twelfth Night, prop mistress for The Nether and Keely and Du, and scene-shop and costume-shop aide. She has also been active in the Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society.

Shannon is from Maplewood, N.J.

Emily Schider

Emily Schider caught the theatre bug when she was cast as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella in second grade. “Working in theater has been a dream of mine since I was a child. Even though what I wanted to do in theater has moved from onstage to off, theater is still everything I wanted in life,” said Emily.  The Theatre major from Lincoln Park, NJ is concentrating in Design/Technology and Directing/Stage Management and has a 3.18 GPA.

Emily was the sound designer for several Ramapo College Theater productions, including The Great God Pan, where she received an Honorable Mention for Theatrical Design Excellence in Sound Design. She is also the Fundraising Manager for Alpha Psi Omega, the school’s theatrical honor society, and the Vice President of RCTV.

Off campus, Emily has been involved in stage managing and sound designing for Aspire Performing Arts Company.  Last summer, she was the assistant sound engineer for the Texas Shakespeare Theater Festival’s 30^th season.

“With this scholarship, I can continue to learn all that I can about theater.”

Ashley Greiner

Ashley Greiner of Pequannock, New Jersey is a senior Theater major with a concentration in Design and Production. She has a 3.2 grade point average.

At Ramapo, Ashley has been active in several organizations and activities, including working as a teacher’s assistant for theater classes and acting as the lighting designer for an Alpha Psi Omega and a main stage production. She is a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma National Sorority, where served as the community service chair.

Rachel Frascella

Rachel Frascella of Hawthorne, N.J. is a theater major with a double concentration in stage management/directing and design/tech. She has a 3.559 grade point average.

At Ramapo, Rachel has been active in several organizations, including stage managing for Ramapo Theater Department main stage productions and Scene Shop aide for the Theater Department.

Stephanie Gonzalez

Stephanie Gonzalez of Old Bridge, NJ is a Theater major with a concentration in Design/Technical Theater. Stephanie enjoys going to the theater and concerts as well as swimming. She plans to secure a position as a set designer or a props artisan in New York City. She says, “I really appreciate this opportunity and the doors that having received this scholarship have opened for me. I am grateful that this scholarship is one that is so close to my heart and so closely related to what I want to do with my future.” Stephanie has a 3.46 grade point average.

Erica Furnald

“In high school, I worked with props backstage, helped the actors with costumes, assisted with set change, set up headsets prepared the booth and my favorites: ran the flies and hung the lights. These experiences confirmed that I wanted to have a career in backstage theatre,” said Erica Furnald. After high school, Erica earned an associate’s degree in theatre from Raritan Valley Community College. There she gained experience as a stage manager. “I loved being able to lead a team and keep everyone together and functioning as a unit,” she said. Erica is enrolled at Ramapo as Theater major concentrating in both Directing/Stage Management and Design/Technical Theater. A junior, she has earned a 3.82 grade point average. At Ramapo Erica is refining her theater skills. “I’ve learned more than I ever thought I could,” she added. “Being able to reach the hearts, minds, and souls of an audience just because the company did their job right is an experience like no other.” Erica is from Annandale, NJ.

This scholarship has helped me pay for college, which gets me the education I need.

Nick Cornwell

Nick Cornwell is a junior in Contemporary Arts, pursuing a contract major in Technical Theater Design and Audio in Digital Film. He is from Fair Lawn, NJ. Nick works as an audio engineer for Stagelight Electric Productions and Onstage Inc., both production and lighting companies located in northern New Jersey. He works as head technician for student productions and touring artists in the Berrie Center on campus. “I have managed to wear many different hats acting as a sound designer, system technician, monitory engineer and front of house engineer as well as a warm body loading trucks!” he says. “So yes, I do technical theater because I love the work, but I do theater because it has changed lives of people, and for some, makes life drastically more endurable.”

Alex Baldwin

Alex Baldwin of Newark, NJ is a Theater major with a concentration in Design/Technical Theater. He works on campus in the Berrie Center as a head theater technician. He is involved with Ramapo student productions and other on-campus events that require the services of a theater technician. Not only is Alex “enthralled with the inner workings of live music and theater,” but the major appeals to his inclination for skilled manual labor. Before enrolling at Ramapo Alex was a plumbing and heating apprentice. Alex, who has a grade point average of 3.42 says, “It is challenging and gratifying to realize my place in this world as a purveyor of the physical environment that breathes life into theater.”

Emily DeNardo

Emily DeNardo of Aberdeen, NJ is a Theater major and Literature minor who developed her love of the theater when she served as stage manager for her eighth grade class production. Although she also is interested in directing, Emily says, “I found stage management to be more challenging, engaging and fulfilling.” She chose Ramapo College because it allowed her “to be involved in every aspect of its theater program.” She has stage managed “Playboy of theWesternWorld” among others at Ramapo and last summer she completed internships with HorseTradeTheater Group,Manhattan Theater Source and Out OfThe BoxTheater Company. Emily, who has a 3.83 grade point average, was inducted into Alpha Psi Omega, the theater honor society.

It has helped me pay for my education and it lets me know people care about the people who make art happen.

John O’Gorman

John O’Gorman’s interest in the technical aspects of theater began when he was a high school student at the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts in Denville, NJ. Ramapo Professor Rachel Budin was a guest artist there and became his mentor. Budin asked Jack to intern at the College. This experience led the Boonton, NJ resident to apply to Ramapo. In addition to building scenery for all of Ramapo’s productions, he designs the audio/video for the shows and serves as the assistant sound designer and sound engineer. Jack, who has a grade point average of 3.24, also is a Super-Skilled Student Intern, responsible for supervising student aides and assisting at Berrie Center events. His goal is to work in theater as an audio and video designer.

This scholarship will help me prepare by giving me the opportunity to work on the skills that are important in my field.

Lauren Barbara

Ramsey resident Lauren Barbara is in her junior year at Ramapo majoring in theater while pursuing teacher certification in elementary education. By the time she was a senior in high school Lauren had been an active Girl Scout for 13 years. Lauren was the student director for three plays during her high school career, and either worked backstage or as a performer for many others. She served as president of the Ramsey High School Drama Club, and was a member of the choir and the concert choir. At Ramapo Lauren has earned a 3.61 grade point average.

Emily Weinberger

“My hope is that I can continue my work fabricating and designing scenery and props for theatrical productions,” says Emily Weinberger of Aberdeen, N.J. The Theater major has a concentration in Design and Technology and holds a 3.5 GPA.

Emily works as a Student Aide in the Theatre Department’s scene shop, and as the Stage Manager for the Fooligans, Ramapo’s comedy improv troupe. She also recently designed the scenery for Ramapo’s production of She Kills Monsters.

She previously interned for Premiere Stages at Kean University.

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