DAVID GEFFEN SCHOOL OF DRAMA AT YALE CELEBRATES
THE CLASS OF 2020
Saturday, May 14, 2022 University Theatre
Ceremony James Bundy, Elizabeth Parker Ware Dean Florie Seery, Associate Dean Chantal Rodriguez, Associate Dean Kelvin Dinkins, Jr., Assistant Dean Anna Glover, Faculty Marshal Ariel Yan, Registrar
Welcome Land Acknowledgment Yale University acknowledges that Indigenous peoples and nations, including Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Schaghticoke, Golden Hill Paugussett, Niantic, and the Quinnipiac and other Algonquian speaking peoples, have stewarded through generations the lands and waterways of what is now the state of Connecticut. We honor and respect the enduring relationship that exists between these peoples and nations and this land.
Remarks Celebrating the Class of 2020 Closing Remarks Reception Please join the class for a reception immediately following this ceremony at the Shubert Theater, 247 College Street, New Haven.
A very special thanks to David Chu of c2 inc. for providing today’s live captioning.
Class of 2020 Technical Internship Perry Keller Adago
James Thomas McLoughlin
Tiago Jose Rodrigues
Jenna Lauren Carroll Joseph Krempetz
Kathrine Ford Pulling
Cameron Waitkun
Erin Sims
Certificate in Drama Gregory Victor Georges
Juliana Aidén Martinez
Zoe Mann
John Evans Reese IV
Master of Fine Arts Evan Christian Anderson
Robert L. Hart
Ilia Paulino
Alicia Joann Austin
April Monique Hickman
David Patrick Phelps
Lucia Eve Bacqué
Evan Gregory Hill
Christopher Audley Puglisi
Stephanie Julie Bahniuk
Carl Joseph Holvick
Danilo Rocha Gambini
Zachry Jason Bailey
Hao-En Hu
Dario Sanchez
Danielle Lynette Barlow
Tatsuya Ito
Rajiv Shah
Julia Faith Bates
Jonathan C. Jolly
Emily B. Sorensen
Liam David Bellman-Sharpe
Benjamin Tirado Jones
Dakota Sylvan Stipp
Brandon Edward Burton
Sarah Rafaele Karl
Erin McKee Sullivan
Madeline Blaire Charne
Manu Heywot Kumasi
Samantha Tirrell
Emma Elizabeth Deane
Matthew Harry Lewis
Jaime Francisco Totti
Noah Asa Diaz
Doireann Mac Mahon
Michael Jon VanAartsen
Margaret Eden Douglas
Alexander Lawrence
Alex Noel Vermillion
Logan Ellis
McCargar
Caitlin Elizabeth Volz
Samantha Rose Else
John McGlone IV
Adrienne Suzanne Wells
Christopher Henry Evans
Ciara Monique McMillian
Jonathan Willis West
Fabiola Syvel Feliciano-
Alexandra Erin McNamara
Devin Macneal White
Batista
Martin Montaner Valdivieso
Emily Duncan Wilson
Elsa Rinde GibsonBraden
Gwyneth Muller
Irene Yaro Yarashevich
Margaret Elizabeth
Anula Shirish Navlekar
Katherine Yen
Laurie Eileen Ortega-Murphy
Yunzhu Zeng
Burns Gray Lily Guerin
Doctor of Fine Arts Byongsok Chon
Elizabeth Rebecca Pauley
Prizes Awarded in 2020 The ASCAP Cole Porter Prize is awarded to students of David Geffen School of Drama for excellence in writing. Awarded to Noah Asa Diaz.
The Edward C. Cole Memorial Award is sponsored by the Technical Design
and Production Class of 1983 to commemorate the contributions of Edward C. Cole to the profession of technical theater. The recipients of this award, selected by their classmates in the graduating class of the Technical Design and Production department, best exemplify the ingenuity, creativity, craftsmanship, and dedication to the art of theater that are the hallmarks of the theater technician. Awarded to Irene Yaro Yarashevich.
The Carol Finch Dye Prize, funded by Charles Finch in memory of his sister Carol Finch Dye ’59, is awarded to a graduating Acting student in recognition of artistry and commitment. Awarded to Ciara Monique McMillian.
The John W. Gassner Memorial Prize is awarded for the best critical essay,
article, or review by a student published in, or submitted to, Theater magazine. Awarded to Rebecca Ann Adelsheim.
The Bert Gruver Memorial Prize is awarded to students of David Geffen
School of Drama for excellence in stage management. Awarded to Samantha Tirrell.
The Allen M. and Hildred L. Harvey Prize, established by Jean L. Harvey to recognize superior work and writing by Technical Design and Production students, is awarded to the student author of the best article in Technical Brief and/or the best Technical Design and Production research thesis. Awarded to Rosalie Bochansky. The Morris J. Kaplan Prize is given to the graduating theater management
student who most exhibits the integrity, commitment, and selfless dedication to high standards in the profession of nonprofit theater management that characterized Morris Kaplan’s twenty-year career as founding counsel to the League of Resident Theaters. Awarded to Caitlin Elizabeth Volz.
The Julian Milton Kaufman Memorial Prize, established by Lily P. Kaufman in memory of her husband, Julian Kaufman, a 1954 alumnus of the Directing department who, through teaching at the secondary and university levels, touched the lives of countless young people, is awarded to a graduating directing student who has demonstrated talent in the chosen field of endeavor. Awarded to Logan Ellis. The Jay Keene and Jean Griffin-Keene Prize is awarded to a student
of David Geffen School of Drama who is studying costume design. Awarded to Stephanie Julie Bahniuk.
The Leo Lerman Graduate Fellowship in Design, given by friends of the late Mr. Lerman and the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Inc., is awarded to students of costume design for the purpose of enabling them to study internationally upon their graduation from David Geffen School of Drama. Awarded to April Monique Hickman. The Dexter Wood Luke Memorial Prize, established by Jane Kaczmarek ’82, is awarded to graduating students whose sense of curiosity and sense of joy have enriched the lives of their colleagues at David Geffen School of Drama. Awarded to Laurie Eileen Ortega-Murphy.
The Donald and Zorka Oenslager Travel Fellowship, established in
1996 through an estate gift from Zorka Oenslager, is awarded to design students who wish to study internationally upon graduation. Awarded to Elsa Rinde GibsonBraden and Alexander Lawrence Bertrand McCargar.
The Pierre-André Salim Prize is awarded to graduating students whose
artistry, professionalism, collaborative energy, and commitment to the community have inspired their colleagues, and who show distinct promise of raising the standard of practice in the field. Awarded to Zachry Jason Bailey.
The Bronislaw (Ben) Sammler Mentorship Award, established by the
Class of 2000, honors graduating Technical Design and Production students who, through action, attitude, or inspiration, have motivated their fellow classmates. The honorees are selected by the first- and second-year Technical Design and Production students. Awarded to Irene Yaro Yarashevich.
Prizes Awarded in 2020 The Frieda Shaw, Dr. Diana Mason OBE, and Denise Suttor Prize for Sound Design is awarded to graduating students in Sound Design to
recognize distinctive breadth of achievement, artistry, and leadership. Awarded to Liam David Bellman-Sharpe.
The Oliver Thorndike Acting Award, established by Mrs. Nathaniel S. Simpkins, Jr., and supplemented by gifts from her son, Nathaniel Simpkins III, in memory of Oliver Thorndike Simpkins, whose stage name was Oliver Thorndike, is awarded annually to actors at David Geffen School of Drama who best exemplify the spirit of fellowship, cooperation, and devotion to the theater that characterized Mr. Thorndike. Awarded to John Evans Reese IV. The George C. White Prize is awarded annually to a graduating student at David Geffen School of Drama whose work at David Geffen School of Drama most closely demonstrates the distinctive qualities of George C. White, including appreciation for the value of arts throughout the world, curiosity about the people and events shaping our cultural heritage, respect for creative production management, and congeniality toward colleagues. Awarded to Danielle Lynette Barlow. The Herschel Williams Prize, established by Mr. Williams, who was a member of the first class accepted in Drama at Yale, is awarded to acting students with outstanding ability. Awarded to Brandon Edward Burton.
History of the School Yale University founded a Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts in 1924 through the generosity of Edward S. Harkness, B.A. 1897. In 1925, while the University Theatre was under construction, the first class of students was enrolled. George Pierce Baker, the foremost teacher of playwriting in America, joined the faculty to serve as the first chair of the department, and the first Master of Fine Arts in Drama was conferred in 1931. In 1955, by vote of the Yale Corporation, the department was organized as a separate professional school, Yale School of Drama, offering the degrees of Master of Fine Arts, Doctor of Fine Arts, and Certificate in Drama (for those students who complete the three-year program without having the normally prerequisite bachelor’s degree). The School is now David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University in celebration of a $150 million gift made by the David Geffen Foundation in 2021 to support tuition remission for all degree and certificate students in perpetuity.
Iconography of the School Shield
The shield of David Geffen School of Drama, designed by Theodore Sizer, incorporates the gold spear from William Shakespeare’s coat of arms on a gray background with gold footlights and a red stage curtain drawn back by three decorative gold buttons and a gold tassel.
Mace
The David Geffen School of Drama mace, designed by Ming Cho Lee, is an interpretation of the comedy and tragedy masks that are established symbols of theater—tangible representations of the act of taking on a character. As the central idea of his design, Professor Lee foregrounded the elevated emotional value of these icons to highlight theater’s eloquence in expressing the range of human experience.
Yale