Lydia Stewart
Lydia Stewart is a playwright, director and teacher from Kingman, Indiana. She has a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing and an MA in Dramatic Production from Bob Jones University, and is currently an MFA candidate at the Hollins University Playwright's Lab.
Her most recent piece, Chrysopylae, was produced at the Spinning Jenny in Greer, SC. In January, 2015, another new play, Whales Outside the Window, was produced at Bob Jones University. She is a free-lance writer and has developed several children's programs for community and religious theater. A Christmas Carol, a musical she co-wrote with lyricist Paul Keew, appeared for its third year onstage in 2014, and her play, Then Came the Rain, premiered in 2011.
Nathan Pittack
Nathan is a 2019 graduate of the Theatre MA program at BJU, and now lives in the Greenville area with his wife Lizzie. During his two years, he focused on performance and scholarship with the intent to teach. He also rediscovered his love for writing through various playwriting and adaptation courses, and he plans to further develop some of those scripts. Currently, he is a teaching artist at South Carolina Children’s Theatre in West Greenville where he combines his passion for theatre education with his camp counseling experiences. He is also a script writer for BJU Press Digital, and he enjoys writing educational skits that turn factual information into a relational experience.
Donna Tillman
Currently I'm back at BJU for an education degree in Composite Social Studies Ed. I intend to add to my understanding of education and give myself the opportunity to teach in the public schools.
As my profession, I am a professional storyteller in the Upstate. I serve as the "Stone Soup Storytelling Institute Staff Storyteller" (I present at events where they are promoting storytelling to the public). They produce the annual Stone Soup Storytelling Festival in April. I have been an Artist in Residence in the Anderson County School District, a ghost story teller, and most recently I have been asked to give a keynote on personal storytelling for a group hosting its national conference in Greenville. We will be having a phone conference on Monday to chat about the details. Storytelling is live and well in SC, I am proud to say. If the Theatre Dept is ever wanting to put on an evening of ghost stories, shoot me an email. My website is storytellerdonnatillman.com and my email is donnatellsstories@gmail.com
Bethany Woodfin Holden
In May of 2017, Bethany graduated with her MA in theatre arts, and then married earlier theatre graduate, Clinton Holden. She recently began work at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities as a Program Assistant for the Office of Student Services. When Bethany is not co-planning or attending events, she and her husband enjoy catching all of the local art that the Greenville community has to offer.
Meghan Reimers
Meghan Reimers holds a BA and MA in Theatre Arts from BJU. She has recently received her MFA from the Playwright’s Lab at Hollins University while working in the Greenville area.
"As a part of the grad program, I gained valuable experience producing, designing, funding, and writing my own theatre event – not just for a campus audience, but for the broader Greenville community. That’s the essence of the MA program – practical preparation for your future as an artist.”
Shelley Redlinger
Shelley Redlinger completed her undergraduate degree at Bob Jones University in 2015 with a degree in Theatre Arts. After graduating in Dec. of 2015 she had the privilege of interning with the Greenville Theatre. In the fall of 2016, she began her MA’s degree in Communication Studies but then decided to put that degree on hold in order to travel with Plant for the Gospel- a ministry team led by Will Galkin. God used those 2 years on the team to grow her spiritually and equip her with ministry skills that she plans to use wherever the Lord leads. She is excited to be back at BJU to complete her master’s and is also working as a Teacher’s Assistant for the new Christianity and the Arts class. After graduating in May of 2020, Shelley plans to move to a metropolitan are in order to pursue a career in art administration. The Theatre offers unique relationship opportunities which Shelley hopes to take advantage of in order to share the love of Christ with the lost. No matter where the Lord leads, she will always be looking for opportunities to use her creativity and love for the theatre in order to bring glory to God.
Anna Brown
Anna Brown graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Pedagogy and in 2015 with a Master of Arts in Theatre Arts. For two years she worked at Artios Academies of Greenville, during which time she taught theatre, public speaking, and history. She currently works as a script writer for BJU Press Digital, where she has appeared in dozens of educational videos as both an onscreen and voice-over actor. Anna has performed with multiple theatres in the Upstate, including Mill Town Players, The Market Theatre, and Misfit Theatre Company. She has also acted in numerous productions on BJU campus, including Henry IV (Falstaff) and King Lear (Fool). When she is not in rehearsal, Anna enjoys attending workshops, lessons, and performances in the area. She hopes to pursue further education, but in the meantime plans to continue deepening her involvement within the community.
Austin Phillips
Austin Phillips holds an MA Theatre Arts (2013) and a BA in Dramatic Production (2010) from BJU.
He served as assistant costume designer/costumer for six seasons with Greenville Shakespeare Company's productions of Comedy of Errors (2013), Midsummer Night's Dream (2014), Love's Labor's Lost (2015), The Tempest (2016), Twelfth Night (2017), Two Gentlemen of Verona (2018), and stepped into the lead costume designer position for As You Like It (2019).
He designed BJU's Henry IV (2017), Sense and Sensibility (2016), and Joan of Arc (2014). Other credits include costume assistant for BJU's Love and Laughter (2015) and costume coordinator for Centre Stage's The Explorer's Club (2016).
He is a member/collaborator of 11th Hour Theatre and supervised the design of a new work Full Circle (2019).
Jessica MacQuarrie
Jessica MacQuarrie holds a BS in Speech Education from NIU and graduated in 2014 with an MA in Theatre Arts from BJU. She enjoys acting, directing and working with original plays. Most recently, Jessica directed Full Circle with Eleventh Hour Theatre and this fall, she will be directing Misfit Theatre Company's newest musical, The Inspector of Oz.
Jessica currently teaches drama to 1st-8th grade students and serves as the Volunteer and Event coordinator at Greenville Classical Academy. In May 2020, she is looking forward to directing GCA students in an original musical adaptation of Pilgrim's Progress.
C.J. McElhiney
C.J. McElhiney holds a BA, Theatre Arts (2016) from Bob Jones University. For the following two years, while working as an Admission Counselor for BJU, she also worked as a freelance Stage Manager, Crew member, and actor for many Greenville area theatres, including CenterStage, Greenville Theatre, and the Younts Center. After moving to Chicago, IL in 2018, C.J. has served as the Theatre Director for Schaumburg Christian School. Her responsibilities include directing the school's three yearly productions, teaching speech and drama classes for students beginning in 3rd grade, and coaching students for state and national competitions. C.J. also serves as the Executive Assistant for Overshadowed Theatrical Productions, a faith-based community theatre in Itasca, IL, which is currently beginning its 15th season. Her responsibilities there include marketing and publicity for each production, as well as overseeing props and stage management. C.J.'s next endeavor is developing and directing Summer Shakespeare Intensive, a summer workshop designed for high school seniors and college freshmen to hone their acting and performance skills, by utilizing vocal and physical techniques to present an abridged production of one of Shakespeare's plays.