Aria Shannon ’16 always knew she wanted to pursue a theatrical career, specifically one in musical theatre. However, it was also really important to her to receive a liberal arts education rather than attend a conservatory, and Beloit allowed her to diversify her experiences and areas of study. So in addition to the standard classes she also got to take classes in Shakespeare, contact improvisation, costume history, as well as psychological disorders, physics of music, and writing for performance.

During senior year, she was accepted to and attended Open Jar Institute’s Musical Theatre Residency in NYC. Since then Shannon has played the role of Jennifer in the world premiere reading of Hope for the Flowers (and was even included in an article in Broadway World!), as well as being in some smaller shows, like Saved! the Musical, A Night With Amy Winehouse, and Hocus Pocus, and was a Featured Guest Artist at various Open Mic Nights and Cabarets around Manhattan. Shannon currently lives in New York auditioning and working as an actor.

She says, “I couldn’t have made it here without Beloit. I was able to succeed at Open Jar because of the different acting and learning experiences I received from Beloit. I just had a bigger “tool belt” to pull from than many of my counterparts.”