In early September, Alia Shahid ’20 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting) participated in a reading for the LAByrinth Theater Company’s online company member intensive. Over the course of two weeks, participating artists read new works by playwrights which the company was interested in developing. Shahid met playwright Dipti Bramhandkar in 2019 during the acting program’s Playwright Actor Project, an initiative produced by Visiting Associate Professor of Theatre Martha Wollner, M.F.A., to introduce conservatory actors to professional playwrights. For LAByrinth, Shahid was asked to perform the lead in a new coming-of-age story by Bramhandkar, “Feet in the Forest Leave No Mark.” Wollner read opposite of Shahid as her grandmother during the intensive. The reading was directed by Padraic Lillis, former Shenandoah Conservatory guest director and faculty member. The intensive also featured former Shenandoah Conservatory guest artist professor Charles Goforth.
