Nicole Brydon Bloom ’17 will be joining the cast of season two of HBO’s “The Gilded Age.” Bloom’s character, Caroline Stuyvesant, is described as “a beguiling socialite who is the perfect heiress for marriage” and full of “wit and disposition” in a announcing her in the role.

Bloom, who originally came to Elon as a journalism major in 2013, says watching Elon Acting’s production of “August: Osage County” as a first-year student awakened her desire to pursue an acting career.

“I went and saw it and I was like, ‘Yeah, I have to do this,’” she recalls.

She auditioned and was accepted to the Acting program later that year. Bloom reflects fondly on her Elon education and remembers how supportive the faculty in the Acting program were in her training.

“They were so encouraging of me taking risks as an actor. In auditions it is really easy to fall into, ‘What do I think casting directors are looking for and how do I fit into that.’ And that can be very limiting,” she said. “Elon was so good about emphasizing finding a way to make the character you, instead of what you think it should be.”

Originally from the Tri-State area, Nicole always had an affinity for New York City and had hoped her postgraduate plans would take her there. Upon graduating in 2017, she spent her summer in Kentucky doing regional theatre but found her interest in film and television expanding. Shortly after, she found the opportunity to move to New York City and began auditioning for film and television. Some of her more recent credits include Chloe Cooper on “Law and Order: SVU,” Lilia in “The Affair,” and Sarah in “1BR.”

Bloom initially auditioned for season one of “The Gilded Age” and shared her strong admiration for creator Julian Fellowes’ work with “Downton Abbey.”

“I loved Downton Abbey and Julian Fellowes’ work. I was still in college when I heard the rumors that he was making a new show like the ‘New York version of Downton Abbey.’ I emailed my agent, and I was like I have to be in this. I told my agent, ‘If this comes up, I would love the opportunity to read for them,’” she shared.

While Bloom did not end up joining the cast of season one, she still believes that everything happened the way it was supposed to.

She reflected, “All good things take time. It wasn’t meant to be, and I do believe that because I met my now fiancĂ© a month later. If I had been filming or had gotten the opportunity, who knows where I would’ve been?” She continued, “It didn’t go my way initially, but I was really happy when they circled back for season two.”

Despite her growing career, Bloom has felt the strong rejection that comes with working in the entertainment industry. In surrounding herself with people who support her as well as exploring other outlets and interests, Bloom was able to build the resilience to sustain her acting career.

“Find other outlets, other creative outlets, whether it’s drawing or reading or whatever, find those things that will keep you going when you’re getting no’s from acting,” she suggests.

Her other piece of advice to emerging artists?

“Pick an area to live in where you know you will be happy, regardless of your acting,” Bloom said. “The industry is hard. There is so much rejection. You have to find where you place that. Surrounding yourself with the right people and finding different avenues and outlets and different interests that can keep you busy while you are pursuing what you love. If you are happy, your work will be better.”

Lyndsay Burch ’13 has been named the new artistic director of B Street Theatre, a staple in the Sacramento performing arts community. At 30 years old, Burch is making history as the first woman named to the position.

B Street Theatre is a professional, non-profit theatre located in Sacramento, California. Starting as an Actors’ Equity touring theatre for children in 1986, it now serves as the mainstage residential professional programing for adult audiences in the Sacramento area.

Originally a theatre studies major, Burch contacted Acting program coordinator Fred Rubeck about her interest in directing upon her arrival at Elon in 2009. After learning about the opportunities and exposure to directing that BFA Acting students receive, and knowing it was important to her to learn about the craft holistically, Burch auditioned for the Acting program her first semester and was accepted.

“The professors worked with me to create a trajectory that fit what I wanted to do,” Burch fondly reflected.

During her time at Elon, Burch was granted many opportunities to explore her interests, including studying Commedia Dell’arte in Italy and spending time at the National Theatre Institute in Connecticut as part of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.

Leading up to her graduation, Burch found herself really lost on where her next steps would take her, unable to find many opportunities that were the right fit for her directing interests. Rubeck introduced her to the B Street Theatre Directing Internship.

She applied and was accepted to the position in early spring of her senior year.

“Elon had cultivated a long-term relationship with B Street. I would not be here if not for that,” Burch recalled.

Outgoing artistic director of the B Street Theatre Buck Busfield later told Burch regarding her application, “I was looking for an intern who was serious about directing and not just flirting with the idea of directing and when I looked at your resume, I saw that.”

Following her completion of the eight-month internship in 2013, she was offered a staff position at B Street Theatre as an artistic associate, where she was able to direct three to four shows a year and gain more hands-on administrative experience. From there, Burch found herself being promoted to artistic producer in 2017, where she managed the entire theatre’s move to their new space, The Sofia. She was named associate artistic director soon after.

As associate artistic director, Burch was second only to the artistic director in terms of decision making, management, overseeing every administrative department, purview overcasting, play selection and working with the executive producer of production selection. She was learning the ins and outs of every department.

When the pandemic hit, Burch found herself as the lead producer of B Street’s virtual programming, while also maintaining her position as associate artistic director. She was a part of almost every single virtual event and found herself becoming a strong face for the organization.

Following the announcement of Busfield’s retirement in January 2021, Burch was selected for the role of artistic director by the organization’s board of directors, having noticed her immeasurable impact.

During her time at Elon, she was also a member of the Honor’s program where she researched and defended her thesis, “The Elon Women’s Theatre Project: An Agent for Change.” Her thesis measured the marginalization of women in theatrical positions of leadership. Burch was passionate about creating spaces for women in the arts outside of performing, but her research found that there were few existing opportunities. Many women hoping to hold positions of leadership were being met with resistance.

Fast forward 13 years, Burch is living proof of the progress the industry has made.

“My college self would be like, ‘You are living your dream come true.’ Of course, it’s not easy in many respects, nor did I expect it to be. I would say you are living your dream come true, but you also did your research, it was true and these are the things we are now striving to change in the industry,” Lyndsay said.

Her goal for B Street Theatre? To focus on female-oriented stories and voices, ones that offer the nuances of what it means to be a woman.

“It’s about shifting the perspective of where women fit in the theatre and in the arts,” she said.

When asked what advice she had for women looking to hold a position of leadership, Burch responded, “Know that you have something to bring. Do not ever doubt that – your voice, your vision and your personal experiences are of value, and they need to be heard.”

The 51±ŹÁÏÍű BFA Acting program is proud to offer their students opportunities to take their studies to other cities. The Columbia College and Second City Comedy Studies Program located in Chicago is offered to BFA Acting students in their junior year of study. Students can choose to attend either in their fall or spring semester.

Students enrolled in the program take a total of five classes including History of Comedy, Writing, Improv, Movement and Voice. All courses they enroll in count towards their Elon degree requirements.

“From the moment you get there, you are just making content. You’re trying stuff out. You’re failing, you’re failing a lot, but then you are also finding the things that you’re good at. You find things you have a pulse on as far as being a writer or being an actor or being an improvisor,” said John-Luke Lindstrom, who studies at The Second City in the fall 2021 semester.

Students rotate through two to three of these classes Monday through Friday, leaving them plenty of time to explore outside the classroom.

Marlyn Fisher Scott ’20, who was at Second City in the fall of 2017, used that free time outside the classroom to enhance her acting career.

“One big difference in Chicago was that I finished classes between three and four, and until later in the semester, didn’t have any rehearsals. So, that time off in the evening allowed me to audition around Chicago, and I ended up booking a show at a small walk-up theatre downtown,” Fisher Scott said. “So, during the day I got to clown around, then I’d hop the train and go rehearse a nitty gritty little piece of hyper realism! It was awesome.”

The Columbia College and Second City Comedy Studies Program provides students with the chance to see a variety of improvisational and comedy shows, explore the numerous amounts of theatres and artistic experiences, connect with other theater artists, and present their work in a showcase at the end of the semester.

Spencer Hodges ’17 shared what makes the showcase at The Second City so unique. “You spend your whole semester culminating material and your class is writing all of your own scenes. It’s personal because it’s coming from you. It’s something that you wrote, it’s something that you created. It’s a lot of fun putting it together and it represents the Second City process.”

Hodges helped establish the program as a part of Elon Study USA in 2016 while working closely with the Global Education Center staff. A junior at the time, she had spent the previous two summers taking short-term programs with The Second City and was eager to return upon learning about the semester-long program. Because of this, her financial aid package from Elon supported her enrollment at The Second City. Hodges efforts helped ensure the access and viability of the program to all future acting majors.

Fisher Scott explained just how big of an impact Hodges created on her first-year self. “She had just returned from a semester at The Second City in Chicago studying improv and sketch comedy, and she was hands down the funniest person I’d ever met. I decided that if I could be a fraction as funny as she, I’d be just fine. So, I started planning my semester from that point forward!”

Every year, Elon acting majors are deciding how to shape their four years and incorporate study abroad/Study USA into their training.

When asked what advice she would give to students deciding on the program, Hodges spoke to her own experience. “I think it was very good for me. It was incredibly formative. I think it gave me a lot of confidence in myself. I was very validated, I was taken seriously, I was encouraged, I was supported. I can’t imagine who I would be without the program.”

The TAL curriculum includes three standard courses for students (Introduction to London Theatre, Shakespeare and Stage Combat) with one elective course. Students can choose from electives such as Playwriting, Devised Theatre and High Comedy. Students register for the program at no additional cost to their Elon tuition and fees. All TAL courses they enroll in count toward their Elon degree requirements.

A unique feature of the Introduction to London Theatre course is the chance for students to see a theater performance each week. In addition to attending class discussions about each show they attend, students are provided with opportunities to attend seminars with the artists involved in each of the performances.

Studying Shakespeare in the city where his works were born, students are taught by experts in the field while gaining invaluable knowledge on how to rehearse and share Shakespeare’s timeless pieces.

Students are additionally growing their performance skills through their Stage Combat class. A notable component of the class is the end-of-semester evaluation by the British Academy of Dramatic Combat, where students are tested for certification in stage combat.

Tommy Truitt ’23 is one of the many BFA Acting students studying at TAL this semester. “For performing arts students specifically, it is a fantastic opportunity because this program does a really good job of providing you with awesome training, it is just so well-rounded and really has helped me feel safe and supported the entire time I’ve been here,” he said.

In addition to the courses, students experience co-curricular activities and excursions. Co-curricular activities can range from London-based excursions to program-sponsored meals or additional theatrical performances. Excursions include weekend trips to destinations within the United Kingdom including Bath, Liverpool, Cornwall and more. Students are able to take advantage of their location and travel on their own, exploring neighboring countries and learning more about their respective cultures and communities.

“Being exposed to so much theater, different cultures, museums, art galleries and street markets has just exposed me to so many different experiences that I feel like I now can use to help inform my acting,” Truitt said.

Elon spent two years piloting the partnership with TAL and following that success, integrated the program fully into the BFA Acting curriculum. The department sends the entire junior class of BFA Acting program students to TAL each fall. The program is also open to other performing arts majors as space is available.

“The performer that goes there, maybe knowing that they love acting, but they don’t know exactly what aspect or how they want to see themselves in the industry, they go to London, and they see a lot of different kinds of possibilities,” said Assistant Professor of Acting Kim Shively shared. “Their global perspective of what it means to be an artist, what it means to connect with others in this world, expands. We can’t assign a valuable to it because it’s invaluable.”