Meet the Majors
Aidan Amster ’23.5
Aidan is a joint theatre and English major from San Francisco, California. Her Middlebury acting credits include The Moors (Huldey), Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play (Maria), The Pussy Grabber Plays, and Jump! (first-year show 2019) She is currently completing her senior work in directing Bright Half Life, by Tanya Barfield. Outside of theatre, she loves singing with her a cappella group, the Middlebury Mischords, and playing acoustic and electric guitar.
Beck Barsanti ’23.5
Beck is a joint theatre and English major from Nantucket, Massachusetts. Acting credits include Together Apart, Until I Do (Jamie), Giants Have Us in Their Books (Oswald), Company (David), Mr. Burns (Homer), Botticelli in the Fire (Lorenzo), Rhinoceros (Ensemble), and Hamlet (Various). He hopes you look forward to seeing him in Polaroid Stories this semester, as well as his thesis project, Dad Rock! When not onstage, Beck can be found singing with the Middlebury Mamajamas a cappella group, writing poetry, or wandering the Middlebury campus aimlessly with a podcast on.
Kayla Schwartz ’23.5
Kayla Schwartz is a theatre major with a directing focus from Cleveland, Ohio. She previously directed Bullets and Shells from the Middlebury 24-hour play festival We’ll Name This Later and stage-managed Orphan Muses (ASM). Lighting design credits include the first-year show Which Way Is Up? and No One Is Forgotten. In front of the scenes, you may have seen her acting in Mr. Burns (Troy McClure) or The Kaleidoscope Festival (Guil). All that being said, her most notable and prized credit during her time at Middlebury wa as a stunt double for Ophelia in Ophelia Underwater. Outside of theatre, you can find her in the natatorium practicing with the diving team or writing with Middlebury Discount Comedy. If Kayla plays her cards right, she will go down in history as Pitbull’s #2 fan.
Annabelle Iredale ’23.5
Annabelle is a theatre and neuroscience double major from Rhode Island. Her Middlebury College acting credits include Company (Sarah), She Kills Monsters (Kaliope), Everybody (B), and Together Apart, and her lighting design credits include Which Way Is Up?! She is one of three theatre liaisons for the department and is copresident of Middlebury College Musical Theatre. Outside of theatre, you can find her singing with the Middlebury Mamajamas a cappella group or her student band, Mutual Friends. She is also founder and president of Middlebury’s first jump rope club. She is very passionate about cereal, competitive jump rope, headbands, and watching ballroom dancing.
Katelyn Wenkoff ’24
Katelyn Wenkoff is a Theatre and Psychology double major from Nashville, TN. Her Middlebury College credits include She Kills Monsters (Lilith), Rhinoceros (Waitress/Narrator 1), Company (Susan), Everybody (Stuff/Somebody 1), Until I Do (Cathy), Big Fish (The Witch), and Together Apart. She will be playing Persephone in this season’s upcoming production of Polaroid Stories. She was thrilled to participate in PTP/NYC’s 35th season at Atlantic Stage 2, in which she understudied and assisted the stage manager in Sex, Grift, and Death. Outside of the theatre, Katelyn can be found singing with the Middlebury Mamajamas a capella group or watching movies with her friends.
Sophie Butler-Rahman ’25
Sophie is an Arabic and theatre double major with a directing focus from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her Middlebury acting credits include Which Way Is Up? (Krishna, Dolly, Wife), Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play (Nelson/Ensemble), The Moors (Marjory/Mallory), and Somewhere (Kin). Over the summer, she worked as an intern for Project Y’s Women in Theatre Festival. She has co-directed A Woman Left Lonely and is now completing her 500 independent work by directing Beta Bitches. She works as the office assistant for the department and can be found enjoying a coffee most of the time. Outside of the department, she is secretary of the On Tap Dance Troupe and works for Arabic language tables.
Qinyi Hua ’25
Originally from Shanghai, China, Qinyi Hua is a double major in theatre and art history. Middlebury stage management credits include Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play (Assistant stage manager) and Rhinoceros (Stage manager). As a design focus, her design credits include Friends: The One in the Zoo (sound design), And Baby Makes Seven (sound design), and the upcoming Tick, tick…Boom! (set design), and Bright Half Life (tech director) in the spring. Professional credits include 2022 PTP/NYC (COVID Compliance Officer/ASM). Outside of theatre, you can find her wearing all-black outfit, drinking bubble tea and learning skateboarding.
Elsa Marrian ‘25
Elsa is a theatre major from Nairobi, Kenya. Her Middlebury College acting credits include Mother’s Little Helper as part of The First Year Show, and Somewhere. This Spring, Elsa is costume designing a production of Tick, Tick… Boom! Elsa started acting in 2013 and has had the opportunity of working with Kenya’s National Youth Theatre in the summers. She loves being a part of the process of bringing a production to life and enjoys working in the Middlebury Costume Shop where she helps in the creation of costumes for faculty shows. Outside of theatre, you can find Elsa recreationally swimming at the pool, observing Middlebury’s active squirrel population, or sewing.
August Siegel ’25
August is a theatre major with a design focus from the Lower East Side, New York. Their Middlebury stage management credits include Which Way Is Up? (FYS 2021), We’ll Name This Later (24-Hour Play Festival 2022), Mr. Burns, Fun Home, and Bright Half Life. August has acted in The Nightman Cometh and ROSPO, the former of which they also helped produce and design. On the side, he is a proud member of the Zoo Crew and the Quadball team. On the other side, August works in the scene shop and as an usher, since he can never truly escape theatre.
Urian Vasquez ’25
Urian is a Theatre and Music joint-major from Santa Fe, NM. His Middlebury College credits include tick, tick…BOOM! (Michael), Somewhere (Eph), Fun Home (Roy, etc.), MCMT’s Big Fish (Will), the 26th Annual First-Year Show: Which Way is Up?, and stage-manager for Storm Still and The Moors. Urian is one of three student liaisons for the Theatre Department and current Zookeeper of the Hepburn Zoo. He loves nothing more than the sense of community he consistently finds within the arts, especially here at Middlebury. He also loves magic and fantasy; if you want to talk about Percy Jackson, need a D&D player, or want help writing a fantasy novel, he is all ears!