At the core of Georgia College’s academic and social scenes is the glittering star that is Alexa Williams, a double major in Theatre and Criminal Justice and a minor in Spanish.
Acting has been something she’s know her entire life that she was going to do. “When I was four, I told my grandmother that I was going to be an actor.” She remembers watching shows like Gullah Gullah Island and Out of the Box and always thinking that one day it was going to be her. She never bought the idea that a lot of kids do that cartoons are these physical real entities she always knew that there were people behind them and she knew she was going to be them.
The first production that stands out to her in her illustrious career was one in the third grade. “I strove to prove myself. The director asked who could do a pirouhette and of course I was like “me me me!” Then she asked me how many I could do and I said ‘as many as you want me to do’”. The director only wanted her to do four, but Williams knocked it out of the park with eight. “I was told not to do it at dress rehearsal and in my mind as a kid, rules are meant to be broken. I ended up spinning myself off of the stage and was out cold for like twenty minutes.”
Recently, Williams was seen as in Georgia College’s production of Much Ado about Nothing as the witty Beatrice, a role that she feels a particular connection to. “I’ve always been told that “Oh Lexi you’re so nice,” She’s very jovial. She doesn’t save face as much as I do, which is something I admire about her. But she’s also tender. She’s genuinely concerned for the state of humanity and the state of her family.” The play, set in the 1960s, presented Beatrice as a follower of the early feminist movement against the Vietnam War, but still maintains the artful language that is iconic of the Early Modern playwright.
“My main goal is whoever decided to trust me with Shakespeare doesn’t regret that decision.” We know the audience didn’t. She goes on to describe the experience as one that will stand out in her college career. “It’s a huge honor. I’m still floored that it’s really happening. I really hope that people enjoy her and get to know her and to know Hero and Claudio and Leonato and all of the ensemble of what I believe to be one of the best stories Shakespeare has ever written.”
You have probably seen her lighting up the stage of Georgia College’s auditorium, but something that you may not know about this star is that she is also involved with various organizations on campus such as the Student Ambassadors, Georgia College’s 4H chapter and GCCOALITION.
Although to some, Theatre and Criminal Justice may seem like an odd combination, for Williams it is inherent. After college she hopes to work with programs aimed towards teaching theatre to children of juvenile detention centers or possibly even all the way up to state penitentiaries.
To the outside world, even the idea Williams’ workload is enough to make some of us tired. People always ask how, but no one ever thinks to ask her why it is that she takes on this heavy workload and she says that it’s such a fundamental part of her existence. “I crave that feeling of that huge exhale at the end of each day: “I’m so tired every bone in my body hurts right now but I did something today.”
“Besides” she continues, “If you aren’t exhausted at the end of every day how do you know that you’ve done anything?”