Though she won't graduate until May, Abbie Isaac is already an accomplished theatre artist. The senior theatre major has acted, directed, and stage-managed numerous productions for the Department of Theatre and Dance. Her most recent directorial work was Top Girls for the department's Lab Theatre, a program for both undergraduate and graduate students to explore and experiment with theatre and to enhance their artistic skills beyond the classroom.

Arriving on campus in the fall 2003 semester as a McNair Scholar, Abbie has excelled as a student, a leader, and an artist. A member of the South Carolina Honors College, Abbie's academic interests range throughout the liberal arts. In addition to theatre, she is pursuing a second major in economics, and continues to take dance classes in the Department of Theatre and Dance and to perform with the department's dance company.

Abbie has assumed leadership roles both within and outside the University. She is the artistic director and a founding member of Greenroom Productions, a student organization aimed at providing additional opportunities for undergraduates to select, act, design, and direct theatre productions. She serves on the executive committee of Armed Chair Productions, a young adult production company affiliated with Trustus Theatre in downtown Columbia. As an undergraduate representative on Department of Theatre and Dance committees, Abbie has worked closely with the faculty in script selection for the main stage season and in establishing an undergraduate scholarship funded by proceeds from student-directed productions. This spring, Abbie will direct The Comedy of Errors at A. C. Flora High School in Columbia, collaborating with the school's drama teacher and young actors on a production that may well inspire others to achieve as she has.

But it is as a theatre artist, and especially as a director, that Abbie Isaac has been most productive. Directing demands not only leadership, but creative vision and technical skills. To further her growth as a director, Abbie studied directing, acting, and Irish theatre during the summer of 2005 in Dublin, Ireland, and spent the summer of 2006 as a directing intern with the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. While her immediate plans after graduation in May are not yet firm, she hopes to continue directing at a regional theatre. Ultimately, Abbie's goal is to become an artistic director with a prestigious theatre where she can both direct productions and work with outreach and theatre education programs.

Abbie is the daughter of Tom and Kelly Isaac of Chantilly, Virginia. For her creative accomplishments and her contributions to the University and to the community, the College of Arts and Sciences is proud to name Abbie Isaac as our student of the month.

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