Ashlyn Peterman

Coppell High School senior Ashlyn Peterman is pursuing a career in technical theater at Columbia College Chicago. She has done set design, been part of the makeup crew and been stage manager in multiple high school shows.

 She started her high school theater career as the head of makeup for the Addams Family her sophomore year, and was the stage manager for Newsies in her. She was a National qualifier for the International Thespian Festival and received a perfect score for stage management for the show Newsies.

What part of the tech theater world do you specialize in?

I have always done a little bit of everything. I have painted sets and [done] makeup and costume design since sophomore year. Someone told me once [that] it was better to be good at a little bit of everything than be fantastic at one thing. I feel like you need to have the flexibility in theatre to be able to get somewhere in the entertainment industry. For “Newsies,” I was the stage manager for the first time and that was the most rewarding experience of my life. 

What do you plan to do in the future?

I want to be able to manage big production projects, whether it be in theatre or hopefully movies, although I will primarily be focused on theatrical set design. I want to be able to take the idea that a director or a writer [has] and make that come to life.  

Why did you decide to study fine arts?

I started technical theater in my sophomore year of high school and [it] was something I fell in love with instantly. There’s not a whole lot else I have really [fallen] in love with other than theater. The amount of female engineers and designers in this industry is very limited,  but I want to be able to put myself out there and remain true to myself. My passion for the theatrics and storytelling is what drives me to this career. 

What impact has this career path had on your life?

As someone who suffers from mental health issues, it gave me a reason to wake up in the morning. This job is a constant movement; we are either building the set, helping with designs or [doing] makeup. It is the motivation and the need to do my job and be excellent at it that excites me about theater. The whole industry is primarily a community and working with everyone as a team is incredibly rewarding. I can take this great feeling and make some money out of it. 

What values do you take from 

The value of friendship. Theater is a community. I am still going to keep in touch with the people I met in conventions and performances. So it is the value of friendship that I want to take with me at all times. That and the work ethics I have learnt here.