One of the rising stars in Winthrop University’s Theatre Department, Amery Miller, considers theatre as a way to continue doing what he has loved since high school. With a passion for musicals and theatre starting with “Rocky Horror”, Miller strives to continue improving his acting through Winthrop University’s program.
“I found a love for theatre in high school and wanted to continue to explore theatre at a more advanced level,” Miller said.
A Rock Hill native, Miller heard about Winthrop’s theatre program during his senior year of high school, which attracted his interest and led him to earn scholarship auditions for Winthrop University.
“I have lived in Rock Hill for ten years, so it was always close by and had a large presence in my area. As for the theatre program, my first exposure to it was during scholarship auditions at the South Carolina Theatre Association my senior year of high school. After the auditions, I checked the callback board and Winthrop had called me back. I spoke with Daniel Gordon about the program and was immediately interested and attracted to the specific community that Winthrop offered,” Miller said.
One of the things that Miller was surprised by at Winthrop University was how welcome he felt when working with other students in the theatre department.
“The friends I have made from being involved in the theatre program are incredibly supportive and are a major part of what I think makes Winthrop such a great school. The sense of community is really unlike any other group I have been a part of in terms of how kind and inclusive everyone is,” Miller said.
Last year, Amery was an actor and stagehand in some productions at Winthrop University, including The Fall One Acts and “Ragtag Theatre’s Rapunzel” in spring 2018.
“One of my fondest memories from a production at Winthrop was playing alongside my friend, Gordon Perkins, as the Cobbler’s wife in ‘Ragtag Theatre’s Rapunzel’ this past spring,” said Miller.
Miller’s goal this year at Winthrop University is to explore more and branch out to test his acting and technical skills, which will help him gain an edge once he graduates.
“I want to pursue a career as not only a performer but hopefully a creative in a broader sense. I want to forge a brand. One that not only produces original and relevant work but hopefully someone who may serve as an inspiration to anyone else who wants to create, regardless of the medium,” Miller said.
Theatre productions usually require actors to not only perform the parts in a play, but also to convey the feelings of a character in order to attract audiences to see that play and enjoy the story by relating to the characters.
“I believe that in order to truly capture an audience’s attention,” said Miller, “you have to create a story or characters that are relatable enough that people can identify with them and compare contrast it with real life.”
With the medium of theatre, it allows the audiences to be immersed by an actor’s performance on stage, despite the limited surroundings in the main theater or the black box studio.
“It has a deeper sense of intimacy than a lot of other mediums. Theatre is to movies and television what concerts and festivals are to music. It has a certain extra bit of spectacle that I think separates it from mediums like film,” Miller said.