Our next Alumni spotlight is Joseph Sheridan! Joseph graduated from Miami in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Arts Management & Arts Entrepreneurship and Theatre, as well as minors in Musical Theatre and Dance. He was a member of Stage Left—Miami's largest student-run musical theatre organization, Alpha Psi Omega Theatre Honor Fraternity, and Walking Theatre Project, but he is most proud of his time as part of New Wave Theatre Company, where he served as president for two years. At Miami, he participated in about 27 theatrical productions, including assisting in the development of three full-length original musicals.

What’s your current role? How did the AMAE program prepare you for it?

I am the Stage Manager and Playwright for Ohio Star Theater in Sugarcreek, OH. The AMAE program taught me the mindset I needed to find and create opportunities at this company. I started working here in 2024 as an actor in Ohio Star's production of Ruth, and leveraged my interdisciplinary skillset to become the company's stage manager, and was later brought on board to write the script for the company's first original musical, The Road to Damascus. I knew what I knew, my own strengths, and how that fit with the needs of the company to become a trusted and contributing member of the organization, and AMAE taught me how to navigate that.

How did AMAE help you find your creative voice as a leader?

The AMAE program taught me not to shy away from the things I want to do, to have a bias for action, and to embrace a truly interdisciplinary mindset within my field.

What’s one thing you learned in AMAE that you didn’t expect to love?

I think that the overall entrepreneurial mindset was something I was not expecting to use in my career as much. Things like means mapping, knowing yourself and your resources, and having the confidence to be the change you want to see in the world is paramount to thriving in creative fields. The AMAE program allowed me to discover this lens through something I love — artmaking. This allowed me to decouple this entrepreneurial mindset from something purely transactional and more about creating connection through the hearts and minds of teams and our audiences.

What is your favorite memory from your time at Miami?

Definitely putting on the musical I wrote, The Butterflies' Promise, as my senior capstone. It was a culmination of all of the different things I'd worked on in both Theatre and AMAE, and was an excellent conclusion to a full and life-changing four years. I was very fortunate to have AMAE's own Todd Stuart as my advisor to help me through the process!

What does being a Miami graduate mean to you?

I think our school is a place of becoming. I often think of the quote from Dr. Phillip Shriver "To Think That in Such a Place, I Led Such a Life". I have become someone new from attending Miami, and I wouldn't trade that for the world. I bring that gratitude with me to each new place I go. Love and Honor!