by Niki Acton '16

After spending fall term 2014 at the National Theatre Institute (NTI), Emily Antoff '15 is already putting her new knowledge to use as the director of Knox College Studio Theatre's production of The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl.

NTI is hosted by the Tony award-winning Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. The program offers various opportunities for undergraduate theatre artists, including an advanced directing semester, an advanced playwriting semester, and a theatre intensive. Students spend 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, in master classes and creating theatre.

While at the O'Neill, Antoff participated in the directing intensive. In addition to the rigorous training she received at the campus in Warterford, Connecticut, she traveled to London to train with the award-winning English theatre company Complicite.

"It's hard to sum up all that I've learned, but the crux of it is that I've learned to take risks," she said. "Even if the risks don't turn out for the best, they are learned from and celebrated."

Through her acting classes and the demanding curriculum at Knox, Antoff felt prepared for the work she was expected to do at NTI. "The ability to time manage and be self driven is crucial there," said Antoff, who is a theatre major and art history minor at Knox.

The classes Antoff took at the O'Neill helped her delve deeper into the art that she loves, but the connections are what will stick with her. Between her time in London and Connecticut, she was mentored by many artists working in the professional theatre world.

"Going to study at the O'Neill Institute was one of the best things I could have ever done to push me forward as a theatre artist and as a person," she said.

Above and top, photos of The Clean House; more are posted in an album on the Knox Flickr channel.

As a culmination of everything she learned, she is directing a production of Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House in Studio Theatre this term (pictured above). "This gives me a chance to directly apply what I have learned at NTI as well as giving some of those skills to other artists at Knox," said Antoff.

Recently, Antoff was also awarded a $3000 stipend from the Hoenig Actor's Fund. The fund, created in honor of the late Stephen Hoenig, gives aspiring theatre artists financial support in order to pursue their talents and dreams. Previous recipients of the fund include Franzesca Mayer '13 and Rebekah Heusel '14.

The Clean House, directed by Emily Antoff, will be performed in Studio Theatre at 8:00 p.m. on March 5 and 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on March 7. Admission is free.