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Hi! My name is Carrie Chalfant, and I am a theatrical performer, director, and playwright from Columbia, South Carolina. My strongest aspiration is to become a full-time storyteller. This website serves as my portfolio for Graduation with Leadership Distinction in Professional and Civic Engagement. I am applying to graduate from the University of South Carolina in Spring, 2017 as a Capstone Fellow with a Bachelor's Degree of Arts in English and Theatre.

 

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I like staying occupied, and am excited about the different projects and organizations I will be involved with in my last undergraduate semester. I am a member of the USC Toast improvisational comedy team, and a member of the national theatre honor society Alpha Psi Omega, where I am serving as my chapter’s recruitment chair for the 2016-17 academic year. Earlier this semester, I performed as a romantic lead and a lucha libre wrestler in a new work in USC's Lab Theater called Outlaw Song, by Ryan Stevens. Currently, I am directing a high school production of Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance through USC's Benson Theater. In May, I will be stage-managing Town Theatre’s Catch Me If You Can. 

 

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In past college semesters, I have been grateful to have had the opportunity to lead, and build my confidence and teambuilding skills. Some of my past roles have included being a Capstone Ambassador, being the first Vice President of Social Affairs on the Capstone Student Programming Council, stage-managing three stage productions, and performing in two productions (including one of my favorite play, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream). Most recently, in summer 2016 I was lucky enough to receive the opportunity to direct my original children's show Little Fishmaid with assistance from the Columbia Children's Theatre and a USC Magellan Grant; a portion of the proceeds went to Curing Kids Cancer. More details about some of these experiences are available in the Key Insights pages of this website. 

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I strongly believe that placing oneself out of one's comfort zone has one of the most uncannily effective abilities to transform, and that doing so has led me to do some really neat things. In high school, except for being onstage, I did not have much confidence; I knew I wanted to learn about people's stories, so I came to USC as an English and Theatre major. My face was, and happily still is, very often turned towards a book. Now, though, I have done a few story-worthy things myself. I have volunteered for a week repairing tiger cages and building bonfires in North Carolina. I have orchestrated lighting, crew, spotlight and sound cues, sometimes at the same times, with paying audiences watching. After I directed my show, I went abroad for the first time this past summer to teach English to a Arlesian French family. By myself, in a new country where I did not speak the language very competently, I was put in a completely new paradigm of living. From the food to the social events to the emphasis on quality of life, I had an amazing time; including my stops in London in Paris, I saw a show at the Globe, I went to see Big Ben, the English crown jewels, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Versailles, and human artifacts thousands of years old, and I spent a month in Van Gogh's most artistically prolific town of residence. None of it would have happened without the confidence-building experiences that the University of South Carolina provided. With the new tools I have gained, I feel more capable of taking on the occasionally adventurous lifestyle of an artist. 

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Right after college, I have a few ideas about what I would like to do. I have been strongly considering a year or two of service, because art is best informed by real life; committing more completely to time with people, not just the analysis of people like in theatre and literature studies, sounds inspiring, practical, and personally enriching to me. I am also thinking about seeking out an internship with a professional theatre in the United States. No matter what I am doing, I plan on writing, especially plays for children. My long-term goals are further elucidated on the Leadership page of this website. I look forward to what the future holds.

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