Jason Liles聽(09) attended FHU for just one year. However, he describes that year as the inspiration for his professional career. While a student here, Jason appeared in Macbeth (Macduff) and Terra Nova (Admunsen). Jason now lives in LA, specializing in 鈥渃reature acting.鈥� Although his face is hidden by extensive prosthetics, Jason appeared in the Will Smith/Tommy Lee Jones comedy, 鈥淢en in Black III,鈥� and in the 2017 release of the 鈥淗alo Wars 2鈥� national commercial. His most recent roles include the death god Ryuk in Netflix鈥� live-action adaption of 鈥淒eath Note,鈥� George, the giant silverback gorilla in the action movie 鈥淩ampage鈥� with Dwayne 鈥淭he Rock鈥� Johnson (2018), and the 2019 summer blockbuster 鈥淕odzilla: King of Monsters.鈥�
Alaina (Smith) Shefelton聽(15) graduated with a B.A. in theatre performance and immediately went to work in the professional theatre industry. She worked as a scenic charge artist for Stages St. Louis and then moved to California to complete a season-long internship at Sacramento Theatre Company. Since returning from the West Coast, Alaina has performed and painted in her hometown of Nashville, TN, at Nashville Repertory Theatre, Chaffin鈥檚 Barn Theatre, Nashville Children鈥檚 Theatre, The Bell Witch Fall Festival, as well as continuing to work across the county, touring with The National Theatre for Children and performing at theatres like Crane River in Nebraska. Alaina completed her master鈥檚 at Mary Baldwin University and holds an MLitt and MFA in Shakespeare and Performance. Recently, she served as the Assistant Technical Director and Interim Technical Director for numerous productions at the American Shakespeare Center while completing her graduate courses. She also worked as Assistant Director of 鈥淭reasure Island鈥� and Director of 鈥淭welfth Night鈥� at Endstation Theatre Company and directed 鈥淪pirit鈥� at the Bell Witch Fall Festival While at FHU, Alaina appeared in numerous plays and musicals, including the mid-south premiere of the musical Life on the Mississippi. She was featured in FHU鈥檚 production of 鈥淭he Doll House鈥� and in 鈥淭he Secret Garden.鈥� Alaina is a 鈥渢riple threat:鈥� an excellent actress, scenic painter, and director. She also works as a photographer. See more of her work at alainashefelton.com.
Becky Thompson Hartle聽(13) serves in the Chester County School System as the elementary fine arts teacher. She teaches music, art, and theatre to over 800 students in pre-kindergarten through third grade. She also works with local middle school and junior high school students, directing one or two productions each year. In 2023, Becky received the Modern Woodmen of America鈥檚 鈥淗ometown Hero鈥� award and in 2018, she received the 鈥淜-5 Teacher of the Year Award鈥� in the Chester County School system. In 2016, Becky launched the Chester County Youth Theater, which serves hundreds of children each year. 鈥淔HU Theatre has instilled the knowledge, passion, and possibilities that theatre has brought to me. The experiences I had with the Theatre program at FHU gave me the leadership skills and content knowledge I needed to teach what I love.鈥� Her favorite roles at FHU include Beth in Little Women, and Madeline Livingston in The Women of Lockerbie. Becky directed Roger and Hammerstein鈥檚 Cinderella, the first musical to be produced in the Black Box Theatre.
Tiffany Christensen Jones聽(07) completed her BA degrees in theatre performance and music. Her passion for ministry led her to Redding, CA shortly after graduation where she interned with the Arts Director at Bethel School of Ministry and subsequently produced and directed the school鈥檚 first full-length production in 2010. For several years, Tiffany worked in faith-based theatre education. More recently, Tiffany worked with the team creating the 2019 film 鈥淯nplanned.鈥� 鈥淏eing at FHU helped expand my vision for what the arts and ministry could do together,鈥� she says. Currently, she lives in Fort Worth with her family and serves as the Head of Development for Believe Entertainment. Favorite roles at FHU include Miracle Worker (Annie Sullivan), The Winter鈥檚 Tale (Paulina), and Enchanted April (production director).
Will Slayden聽(01) has worked in a variety of venues. He started his professional career here at Freed-Hardeman as a Technical Director and Scenic Designer. Since then his designs have been seen at Wayside theatre in Winchester Virginia, Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and at Century College in White Bear Lake Minnesota. He spent a couple of summers teaching and building for Trollwood Performing Arts School in Fargo North Dakota. Recently, Will confessed that 鈥渋f it wasn鈥檛 for Freed-Hardeman and it鈥檚 dedication to individual attention both in the classroom and in practical application of my studies on the stage I would not have been nearly as confident about the skills and knowledge that I possess.鈥� His work has also appeared in a number of smaller community theatre venues around the Twin Cities area. He currently is designing and teaching at Century College while holding outside contracts with a local community theatre as their Scenic Designer and Technical Director.
Starla Steward聽(05) was an active part of the program completing a B.A. in Theatre (performance) and a minor in communications. Starla performed regularly for adult audiences and for children with the Freed-Hardeman Pied Pipers. After graduation, Starla worked as a nanny in New York City, then with the Jackson Sun as a graphic artist before opening Starla Stewart Photography. 鈥淚t is amazing how much theatre plays a role in my photography,鈥� says Starla. 鈥淚 value all of my experiences with the FHU theatre program. Even though the program is not very large, it allows for one-on-one coaching and the opportunity to have a lot of stage time. I was able to play a wide spectrum of characters from a young girl in Our Town, to a middle aged woman in All My Sons to a storybook narrator in Into The Woods. I use my theatre knowledge while staging my photoshoots. I鈥檓 grateful for what I gained from FHU theatre.鈥�
Kell Christie聽(92) served as Theatre Memphis鈥� Artistic Director, having previously served that organization as Director of Education and Outreach. An adjunct faculty member at the University of Memphis, Kell holds an M.F.A. in directing and an M.Ed in curriculum and instruction after receiving a BA in English from FHU. An actress and director, she has been seen in such plays as A Little Night Music, Hamlet, and Once on this Island, for which she won the Memphis theatre community鈥檚 coveted Ostrander Award. Directing credits include Our Town, Romeo and Juliet, Godspell, Fiddler on the Roof, The Wizard of Oz, and Tintypes(Ostrander award for Best Ensemble). Kell Christie is the daughter of FHU鈥檚 late Professor of Theatre, Dr. Hank McDaniel and Joy McDaniel. 鈥淭he FHU theatre experience allowed me to explore a wide variety of roles, both onstage and offstage. My first directing experience was at FHU, as was my first playwriting experience.鈥�
