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FY23 CAREER ACCELERATOR FELLOWS

Amoria Burks (she/her), Senior at Montclair University

Amoria is a senior Theatre Studies major at Montclair State from Teaneck, NJ pursuing a career in entertainment. She is an experienced production assistant and aligns herself with projects that reflect diversity and inclusivity. She is very grateful for the opportunity to be a Career Accelerator Fellow and hopes to one day use her platform to elevate others much like the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. “If all the world’s a stage,” then theatre is an unmatched basis for greatness. She says “If I can make my mark in theatre then my possibilities in the entertainment industry are unlimited.” Ultimately her goal is to become a producer of Theatre, Television, and Film.

“My experience so far has been very exciting,” says Amoria. “I have always been involved with theatre but seeing how it happens in a professional setting is an eye-opening experience. At Luna Stage I was able to see how a play is produced and marketed all within one month! It’s amazing to see how quickly you can make a difference with the power of collaboration. I’m looking forward to seeing what else is in store for me at my next placement.”

Amoria will be working with Luna Stage (West Orange), New Jersey Theatre Alliance, and Yendor Theatre Company (Newark).

Jamie Goodwin (she/her), 2022 Princeton Graduate

Jamie Goodwin, born and raised in NJ, is super excited to join the New Jersey Theater Alliance family as one of the three inaugural Career Accelerator Fellows. Goodwin is a 2022 Princeton graduate, majoring in philosophy and theater, her passion has always been for ideas and art-making. At the heart of both these passions lies her deep desire to create pockets of justice and restorative community even in a deeply unjust and oppressive world. For this reason, she is particularly drawn to devised and experimental theater-making, which she believes allows one to explore complex ideas through collaborative and anti-hierarchical artistic praxis. While at Princeton, Goodwin received the Toni Morrison Prize and the Award for Innovation in Theater Making for her senior thesis show, entitled Somebody: Infinite Identities, Troubled Wholeness and the Search for Self, a devised theatrical performance that tackled the complex reality of living in a marginalized body through poem, story, and movement. In addition to her time in theater, in 2020 she co-founded and led an education initiative in her hometown which attempted to reframe educational inequities through the lens of oppressive systems and ideologies, and ultimately support her community to become better questioners and dreamers. Currently, she works as the Youth Theater Director for Princeton University’s Trenton Arts at Princeton Saturday Morning Arts program and also works as a teaching artist at ArtsEmerson, a presenting theatre in Boston.

Jamie will be working with Mile Square Theater (Hoboken), McCarter Theatre Center (Princeton), and New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

Dez Wesley (they/them), Current Senior at Stockton University

Dez is a Creative Project Development major with a minor in Disability Studies at Stockton University, and is expected to graduate in May 2023. Dez studied film and creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University for their first year in higher education. When they transferred to Stockton University, they decided to go back to their roots in theatre. Dez directed Stockton Theatre Club’s annual Haunted Walk in 2022. They were also the stage manager for 3 One Act Plays by David Lindsay-Abaire. In addition to directing and management, Dez has contributed to multiple design projects during their time at Stockton. They were the costume designer for I Hate Shakespeare! directed by Merideth Keenan. They also were the assistant sound designer for a podcast play While We Wait by Charly Evon Simpson, and for a new play named Maximillien Robespierre Did Nothing Wrong by Nora Brigid Monahan.  Beyond their academic pursuits, Dez has worked in many sections of Stockton’s Arts and Humanities Department. They have worked as a costume attendant, front desk receptionist, and usher for the performing arts department. They are currently working as a monitor for Stockton’s art gallery and Arts and Science building.

Dez will be working with New Jersey Theatre Alliance, Eagle Theatre (Hammonton), and Two River Theater (Red Bank).