Elon’s BFA Acting program featured recent successful alumni Tommi Aleman ‘20 and Nicole Brydon Bloom ‘17 as a part of a day-long seminar for current students, along with prospective students and their families.

Aleman has a wide variety of television credits, including “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” “I’d Kill to Be You” and “American Detective” along with national and regional commercials for Bank of America, Carvana, New Balance and many more. Bloom’s TV credits include “The Gilded Age,” “Law and Order: SVU,” and “The Affair.” Bloom’s film credits include “1BR,” “Better Off Single” and “An Ideal Marriage.”

During March and April, the BFA Acting program hosted a series of open house days where accepted students and their families were invited to attend a day-long seminar with current students in the program. As a part of the seminar, Aleman and Bloom hosted a talkback that included interview questions about their experiences in the field as well as their own advice.

After the talkback, both alumni had a private interview session with the current acting senior class. They discussed how to market yourself as an actor starting out in the industry, how to audition and trust the process. Jack Morrill ’23 said of the session with Aleman and Bloom, ‘It was helpful to see someone who is just entering the industry and who has been there for a while. Learning that consistency and drive are critical to succeed in this industry, but also taking in the advice of not losing your sense of self was very eye-opening.”

Tanner Callicutt ‘19 is thrilled to be making his Broadway debut as a swing in the revival of “Parade.” Callicutt’s recent non-Broadway credits include “Hairspray” as Fender and Link, “Grease” as Danny, and “West Side Story” as Tony.

Most recently, “Parade” was a part of New York City Center’s Encores! program presenting rarely revived musicals. The 2023 transfer marks its first Broadway revival since its 1998 premiere when “Parade” played for just over two months. It was a short but lauded run, receiving nine Tony Award nominations, winning two: Best Book of a Musical (for Alfred Uhry) and Best Original Score (for Jason Robert Brown).

Callicutt was involved in the New York City Center’s concert production of “Parade” in November. When news broke out about the show moving to Broadway, he received a call asking if we would join the team as a swing. Callicutt exclaims that being a swing is the hardest thing he’s done so far in his career. Being a swing means that you’re covering multiple tracks at once in case the principal is unable to perform.

“Not having a set plan has been the biggest thing to adjust to,” Callicutt said. “But the surprise aspect is also very exciting and it keeps me on my toes.”

Callicutt raves about his fellow ensemble members and the community that has been created. Knowing that every person has his back, allows him to focus on just the work.

One of the biggest pieces of advice Callicutt has for current Elon students is to always be professional. That means “being on time, being prepared, and taking care of your body because you rely on it in order to do that work.” Callicutt felt that his time at Elon drilled this mindset into him which allowed him to get work professionally once graduating.

“Parade” opens on Broadway on Tuesday, Feb. 21 and runs until Sunday, Aug. 6 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in New York.

She can also be seen in commercials from Dunkin’ Donuts and Logitech, the latter premiered this summer. For the Logitech campaign, she was flown out to Poland to film a two-day shoot that lasted about 12 to 14 hours each day.

“It was especially cool because I was the only actor,” says Filippone, “So, I got to have dinners with the producers, director, and the client, and really get to know them as people.” She says that it was one of the most memorable projects she’s gotten a chance to work on.

Not only is Filippone a working actor but she also started her own small business selling necklaces. Good Pearl Club is something Filippone says she “created on a whim.” Making necklaces as a quarantine hobby, people started asking to buy them from her. Then while working at her bartending job, a celebrity stylist asked to use one of her necklace designs as a piece for one of his clients. Realizing the opportunity at hand, Filippone quickly had a product shoot, made a website and within thirty minutes of posting, sold her first necklace.

“It was the craziest most random thing I’ve ever done,” says Filippone, “I woke up the next morning thinking to myself, ‘Oh my god — I just accidentally launched a small business.’”

With being out of college for almost four years now, Filippone reflects on the transition from leaving Elon and going out into the world. Having a rigorous course load and schedule “really afforded me the skill set to be able to manage my time and create that structure and routine for myself post-graduation,” she says.

One of Filippone’s biggest takeaways from her time spent at Elon is that learning is a never-ending process and to always reach for more. She emphasizes that her acting coaches always highlight the importance of taking classes. Quickly after moving to Los Angeles, Filippone started attending acting classes and is incredibly thankful that she did. “LeBron James doesn’t get good or stay in shape without training and going to the gym,” she says. “Class is our gym.”

Filippone participated in a virtual panel hosted by the Women of Elon Entertainment Empire on Social Media Marketing. The panel was held on Saturday, Nov. 5.