Taking Their Talent Global

Although based in New York City, the impact and vision of the BFA in Performance Making, which brings together the former Acting BA and Directing BA programs and is offered through Pace University’s Sands College of Performing Arts, extends well beyond the Pace classroom.

From Romania and Scotland to Italy, Croatia, India, Japan, and Greece, students and alumni of the program have spent this past summer creating, studying, and performing on some of the world's most respected international stages and with the crème de la crème of global performance artists.

At a time when international cultural exchange is increasingly important, the diverse experiences of these artist-ambassadors are also a testament to how the program, newly renamed and revamped for its launch in Fall 2026, prepares artists to create meaningful work across countries and continents.

A presence in prestigious theater

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In June, a number of Sands alumni made their mark as part of the Sibiu Festival of Theatre and Cultural Management Universities in Romania, the third-largest theater festival in the world.

The journey began in a Sands College classroom, where Liadin Stewart ’25, Directing, was paired with fellow students Ava Escobado ’25, Acting, and Avery Loving ’25, Acting, in their senior year for the Night of Original Work (NOW), the program’s capstone project, showcasing what they have learned after training in devising original work. Their assignment was to find a short story they loved and adapt it for the stage, and their selection was The Prospectors, written by Karen Russell. With Stewart directing and Escobado and Loving as performers and creators, the rest was (Romanian theater) history.

The show (along with another Sands alumni production, We Men of Science) was performed under the shared title of Eulogies for the Living and brought together prestigious drama and arts management schools, students, and professors from around the world.

Stewart said, “At Pace, I learned what my viewpoint was. It is where I found my voice. Through my directing classes, I learned how to lead a creative team with a cohesive vision. Our directing cohort, which mainly focused on how to direct already existing plays, paired well with our training in devised theater.

Learning through a global lens

International experiences are a key part of the program’s vision on performance making, encouraging students to encounter new artistic practices and perspectives, and this festival was no exception.

Avery Pate ‘25, Acting, another performer and creator in this work, said, “Sibiu was meaningful to me because I got to experience all different styles of work from around the world, and network with other artists who I never would have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.”

Associate Professor and Performance Making Program Head Adrienne Kapstein and Clinical Assistant Professor Ianthe Demos, long-standing Sands faculty in the BFA in Performance Making program, were key players (pun intended) in the alumni’s transition from the classroom to the world stage.

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“Adrienne and Ianthe introduced me to devised theater and how to collaborate effectively. They reminded us to stay grounded in truth, to ask questions, and to play,” said Escobado.

Adam Scott ’25, Acting, who worked as a performer and creator in We Men of Science at Sibiu, points to his semester abroad at the Institute of the Arts Barcelona, a requirement in the BFA program, in which students study European-based methods of acting, dance, directing, and other fine art techniques, as an important part of his journey to Romania.

“My four years at Pace taught me how to be an artist and to devise a piece and collaborate. Because of this, [Gannon Ripchik ’25, Acting] and I had the confidence to take this on and do right by the work,” he said.

Overcoming challenges and taking the work forward

With all the positive and beneficial outcomes from the Sibiu festival, it is a happy consequence that, what happens in Sibiu, doesn’t necessarily stay in Sibiu. Through these experiences, alumni have been able to continue to develop their work while building connections with artists and performance communities.

Isabel Dirk ’24, Directing, who served as production stage manager for both The Prospectors and We Men of Science, drew from her Pace experience to face any challenges in her independent directing practice.

She said, “Within the IPE program, I directed projects and devised ensemble pieces that were given limited budgets, which encouraged me to creatively problem-solve around logistical constraints. These limitations have strengthened the resourcefulness and adaptability I bring to my stage management work.”

In addition, this fall, Stewart and her fellow student-alumni colleagues Escobado and Loving will be showcasing The Prospectors at the Circle Theatre Festival at the AMT Theatre, with Escobado playing the character of Clara, Loving playing the character of Aubby, and Stewart serving as director.

Making their mark across Europe

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As Sands alumni were performing in Romania, across the Adriatic Sea, and beyond into Europe and Asia, others, including one current student, were making their own footprints.

Sebastian Cromwell ’28, Acting, spent June and July at the Embodied Poetics School in Padua, Italy, deepening his studies of the Lecoq approach, a physical theater methodology developed by Jacques Lecoq, a French actor and movement teacher who revolutionized physical theater by creating a structured pedagogy of theater training centered on mask work, movement analysis, and ensemble creation.

As with many Pace students, Cromwell’s opportunity grew out of a faculty connection. Kapstein, who had trained at the Jacques Lecoq International Theater School in Paris, drew on her own experience and professional network to help open the door.

On this and his education at Sands, Cromwell said, “I don’t think I would have been able to get as much out of my intensive training in Padua, without the exposure and background Pace has given me. Being introduced to many different methods of actor training at Sands, especially physical theater methods, I really felt that I was set up for success when it came to what I studied in Padua.”

While Cromwell was in Italy, Sands alumni Melissa Ingle ’20, Directing, and Layla Izabela ’23, Acting, were expanding their horizons in Scotland and Croatia, respectively.

In August, Ingle served as director of Time Travel Postman, an original one-man show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival about a character who delivers mail interdimensionally.

Her third time at the festival, Ingle was inspired by her time at Sands and even worked alongside frequent co-collaborator Alex Church Gonzales ’20, Directing, who did costume design for this production, as well as for Shakespeare Translate, a creation of Ingle’s theater company, Devon Loves ME!” Productions.

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She said, “I am fortunate to have studied in a program with a heavy focus on devised theater and the importance of creating my own work. I focused my time not only on studies related to my degree, but also on being a good collaborator and understanding how each department in theater worked together.”

Earlier, in July, Izabela was at work in the Contemporary Performance Practices apprenticeship program in Dubrovnik, one that focuses on devised theater, immersive theater, the Suzuki method (a rigorous physical and vocal discipline to heighten an actor's stage presence, power, and emotional focus), and Viewpoints training (a physical and improvisational technique that deconstructs stage performance).

Further faculty connections, globally

Another example of Opportunitas at Pace manifesting as faculty sharing their expertise and connections with students beyond the classroom is through the One Year Lease (OYL) professional theater company.

From mid-June to mid-August, in the stunning locations of Varadenahalli Village, India, Lake Nojiri, Japan, and Papingo, Greece, four alumni and one student traveled with OYL’s International Residency Program, of which Clinical Assistant Professor Ianthe Demos serves as founding member and artistic director.

Demos, who is also associate program head for the BFA in Performance Making, sees parallels between her work at OYL and Sands, as, while these roles are separate, both involve looking at theater from an international lens.

She said, “It is always such a gift to work with our [BFA] students in OYL's program. I think [the BFA] prepares them beautifully to engage with the intensity of working with 25 other artists as an ensemble, exploring practices from around the globe. They arrive with a unique skill set under their belt, they are incredible collaborators and are prepared to get on their feet and make work from day one.”

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In Greece, Ricardo Delgado ’21, Directing, engaged in performance work that was “process-driven, demanding, collaborative, and fun.”

“This program was an incredible opportunity to reconnect with the craft of theater-making. It was so meaningful to feel this energy again in both my body and mind and I hope to keep alive the fire within me that this training has ignited.”

Bringing the world closer through performance art

The experiences of Sands students and alumni on global stages have served to inspire and expand them as artists in their respective disciplines, deepening and broadening their relationship with collaborative performance in an intercultural context.

The result has been not only a widening of the scope of their education, but that of making the world smaller and more interconnected in the process, serving as beacons of light in today’s challenging times.