Ally Wood
Basics
Year: Junior
Age: 20
Major: Theatre
Her Campus: Where did you grow up?
Ally Wood: I’ve hopscotched around Georgia and Ohio, but I spent the most time in Richmond Hill Georgia, right outside of Savannah.
HC: Why did you choose GC?
Wood: Originally I wasn’t planning on coming to college; I intended to go straight to cosmetology school after high school. During the last semester of high school when all of my friends already had their acceptances to colleges, I realized that I wanted to experience something more than just staying in the comfort of my hometown for the rest of my life. Georgia College was the only place I applied to, because I wanted to go to school relatively close to home, and that had both a Creative Writing and Theatre program.
HC: Why did you become a theatre major?
Wood: I always loved being on stage growing up. I had terrible stagefright (and I still do) but my favorite part of a show was at the end, hearing applause. It didn’t matter how many lines I missed or how badly my voice cracked when I sang; just knowing that someone enjoyed watching me made me love Theatre. I really wanted to go into script writing which is why I started out as a double major, but I ended up dropping it as I wanted to dedicate more time into specializing my craft for Theatre.
HC: What is your favorite aspect of theatre to work in and why?
Wood: Oddly enough, although I came here wanting to perform, I found my passion for Lighting Design. You know that swelling in your chest you feel when you watch a particularly beautiful sunset? It’s just breathtaking and you fill with awe? In lighting, I get to create those sunsets. I get to set the mood, establish a time of day, cast shadows –it’s like i’m painting a picture but my canvas is a stage with moving subjects. I don’t get to be onstage when i’m designing lights, but my design is all over that stage when that applause happens at the end of the show and I’m proud of the work that i’ve done.
HC: Favorite show you’ve worked on here at GC?
Wood: My favorite show that I’ve worked on while at Georgia College was probably “A Streetcar Named Desire”. That was my first mainstage lighting design opportunity and I had to do a ton of research. It was really exciting (and stressful) designing one of the biggest shows of the year straight out of my first lighting class, but I learned a lot.
HC: Did you ever consider any other majors? Why/why not?
Wood: I want to come back to school in a few years and give Creative Writing another go. I do miss it a lot.
HC: favorite Activity outside of theatre?
Wood: Playing my ukulele
HC: fun fact about you!
Wood: How about a weird fact instead of a fun fact? I have an extra bone in the roof of my mouth (my dad does too).
HC: Fun fact from you!
Wood: The reason why the Georgia fish and shrimp are so sweet is because the coast is lined with Spartina grass which is part of the sugarcane family. You’d be pretty sweet too if you basically lived in sugar water.