Ophelia is a tough one to handle, even for
the most experienced actress. Just before
her death -- by accident or suicide -- the
young woman has gone mad: spurned
by Hamlet, grieving for her dead father.
She appears on stage, with tousled hair,
fading in and out of reality.
year in the Performing Arts Department
(PAD) production of Hamlet was the
chance of a lifetime. Months ahead,
she researched the role avidly; during
rehearsals, she kept a detailed
journal, complete with the symbolic
meanings of Ophelia's favorite
flowers, to delve more deeply
into the emotional life of
her character.
showed. "I know it was my best
work," says Mellon, a joint major in
drama and political science, who is
spending this semester abroad at King's
College in London. "I loved playing
the part. It was an amazing opportunity."
Ophelia's madness was powerful and
intensely, imaginatively felt," says
Schvey, professor of drama and compara-
tive literature. "It was the result of Julia's
work ethic and dedication to exploring
every painful facet of Ophelia's psyche."
community fostered by Schvey and his
PAD colleagues. Students feel secure in
exploring their roles and testing the limits
of their creativity. They also become
closely connected to their faculty mentors,
who are both teachers and friends.
Robert Henke, PAD chair. "Students get a
lot of personal attention -- mentoring and
nurturing -- in the studio and in seminar.
They also get the knowledge and research
expertise of people who are publishing
nationally."
who take part as cast or crew. In most
years, PAD puts on five plays a year and
two dance concerts; one might be a
musical, which takes a large, talented
Ragtime, for example, involved some 50
actors, plus others behind the scenes.
Mellon to Washington University in the
first place. In Connecticut, where her
parents are professional sculptors, she
attended high school at Choate Rosemary
Hall and performed in five theatrical
shows. Her most memorable was Sweet
Charity, in which she played Ursula
March, a broadly comic part.
at a strong liberal arts institution where
she could also study political science --
but not many schools offered that
combination. All in all, she visited
University, though she was dubious
about coming all the way to the Midwest.
found time to talk to me for two hours,"
recalls Mellon. "It was an incredible
conversation. We talked about what a
collaborative department it was and
how the whole mentality in the PAD
made it unique. Within minutes of
leaving his office, I had decided to come
to Washington University."
She Stoops to Conquer. The next summer,
she traveled to London as part of the
university's month-long Globe Theatre
program. She is a member of Mama's
Pot Roast, one of several improvisational
comedy troupes on campus. And she
has taken exciting drama courses with
Annamaria Pileggi and William Whitaker.
the future. She may study public policy or
teach; she may go into theater education
or human rights advocacy. But she hopes
the theater will always be part of her life.
is exciting to work in community to create
something beautiful."