SUMMER SPOTLIGHT: Alison (Yueming) Qu checks in from the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center

My name is Alison (Yueming) Qu and I am a BFA Theater major in the Department of Performing Arts at Emerson College. This summer I am lucky enough to join the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center for a six-week theatre-maker intensive.

Let me tell you—this program is intense! Can you imagine waking up at 7:00am every morning to go to yoga with your eyes barely open and not being able to sit down until 10:00pm—7 days a week for nearly two months? This is how I and a few other Emerson folks chose to spend our summer—and what’s even better is throughout the program we get to write, direct, and perform in six shows!

The excitement of being able to make theater is what wakes me up every morning and keeps me up at night, knowing that we are here to risk, fail, and risk again. My Emerson colleagues and I are shining in this program this summer and I’m so proud of the fact that we were able to walk into this place feeling knowledgeable, capable, and emotionally prepared.

Follow @emersonstage on Instagram and look out for my takeover on Monday, June 24 to see what it’s like to make theater in the room where it happens!