By Miya Williams Fayne
Although Amber Robertson has been dancing since the age of four, she believes that the MSLCE program is currently challenging her to “think about the arts in new and distinct ways every day.”
Robertson took dance lessons as a kid, participated in musical theatre in high school and after graduation she toured with a ballet company for three years. She also has experience as an assistant stage manager at Door Shakespeare and as a director for a student production of Spelling Bee. Robertson loves the creative process involved with the arts and always enjoys seeing the finished products onstage. She stated, “There’s always an element of uncertainty and surprise in live performances, and that’s such a rewarding experience!”
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin native earned two bachelor’s degrees in Theatre Arts and Economics from Lawrence University. During her sophomore year she studied abroad in London where she took a Shakespeare class and was able to see performances of the plays she was studying. “Getting to immerse myself in the artistic culture of the UK was invaluable,” she shared.
Over the years Robertson has taken acting and set design classes and is excited to learn about other areas in the arts while in the MSLCE program. After graduation from Northwestern, she hopes to be a director or choreographer for a performing arts company. “I would love to channel this knowledge into more of a creative role by being in front of the scenes and really getting to challenge my creative side as well as my organizational side,” she explained.
Robertson is currently enjoying learning from her peers and instructors in the MSLCE program and is taking advantage of opportunities to network with industry professionals. She hopes the program will help to further develop her leadership skills in addition to expanding her knowledge of the business side of the arts. “I want to become a true leader of the arts in whatever form the world takes me,” she said.