Meet Our Interns: Summer 2025
Last but not least, meet our Education and Community Engagement (ECE) Interns! These eight individuals have worked all summer in our Play Makers and Teen Conservatory camps, providing theatre education and a ton of fun for over 500 students. Meet Katie, Kayla, Roxy, Mikayla, Jordan, Nadiya, Kaye, and Grayson!
Katie Bland: Education and Community Engagement, Conservatory
Hometown: Missouri City, TX
University: Texas State University, class of 2028
What are you most looking forward to in your summer with the Alley? I am most looking forward to meeting as many amazing people as possible and learning about their journey through the industry. It’s so inspiring to see how different people got to where they are.
What’s your dream show for the Alley to do? I would love to see The Alley do Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties by Jen Silverman. It’s such an odd yet topical show and I feel like the creative minds at The Alley would put on a beautiful production of it.
Kayla Colen: Education and Community Engagement, Play Makers
Hometown: Houston, TX
University: Clark Atlanta University, class of 2027
What is your biggest takeaway from this summer so far? Patience is a virtue, breathing is necessary.
Which play from the 2025-26 season excites you most and why? Fences because I love August Wilson’s work and I can’t wait to see what Ms. Eileen puts on stage with this amazing cast.
Roxy Hamm: Education and Community Engagement, Play Makers
Hometown: Seabrook, TX
University: Lamar University, class of 2028
What is your favorite memory at the Alley? I don’t have a specific memory from working at the Alley because every day I have 20 new stories to go home and tell my parents about. Every day brings a new experience and a new wonderful moment with a camper, teaching artist, or my fellow playmaker interns.
What’s your favorite part of working in theatre? My favorite part about working in theatre is seeing the creativity that everyone brings to each new project. Playmakers is a unique experience where we are putting on a new show with a different group of teachers and student every week. We have never had two shows that are ever the same and it’s been so inspiring to see how wonderfully creative everyone I have met is here.
Mikayla Hoffman: Education and Community Engagement, Play Makers
Hometown: Pearland, TX
University: University of Houston, class of 2027
What does your typical day at the Alley look like? We start with a group warm up with the whole camp, led by a few TAs, then separate into our age groups. Then we have blocks of rehearsals, games, and craft time to make costumes and props. Throughout the session, we create a play based off of a children’s book that we then perform in the Neuhaus Theatre at the end of the session.
What’s your favorite part of working in theatre? I truly feel like I’m making my 12-year-old self’s dreams come true. I fell in love with theatre because it taught me how to connect with people, and now I get to help other kids do the same. I am so very lucky.
Jordan Lang: Education and Community Engagement, Play Makers
Hometown: Katy, TX
University: University of Houston, class of 2027
What is your biggest takeaway from this summer so far? The teaching artists that I’ve had the pleasure of working with have taught me the power of building relationships, choosing your battles, ways to practice patience, and the ability to adapt. No class is alike so you will always be learning new ways to improve as an educator.
What is your favorite memory at the Alley? I have two favorite memories from this internship: celebrating my 20th birthday and watching my group of 2nd/3rd grader’s reaction to winning Felix the Focus horse for the first time, specifically a precious 2-3 who burst into tears of joy.
Nadiya Naehr: Education and Community Engagement, Conservatory
Hometown: Houston, TX
University: New York University Tisch, class of 2028
What’s your favorite part of working in theatre? I love the way theatre demands both creativity and practicality. It’s this perfect balance between boundless imagination and very human limitations. That tension makes theatre-makers incredible problem solvers—and it’s why I never get bored, whether I’m observing, participating in, or helping create a piece of theatre.
What does your typical day at the Alley look like? As a Conservatory intern with the ECE department, I arrive before the students to help set up our first activity. Once they arrive, we sign them in and walk them over to the Neuhaus. Our writing and devising prompts are designed to spark creativity and reflection. One of my favorite exercises involved creating entirely new worlds for the students to inhabit, and watching them respond with original artwork. That’s always the most fulfilling part for me—watching young minds stretch and grow to generate something brand new.
Kaye Stucky: Education and Community Engagement
Hometown: Brandon, MS
University: University of Houston, class of 2025
What are you most looking forward to in your summer with the Alley? I am excited to learn and see and do as much as I possibly can. I want to soak up all of the incredible opportunities that are offered.
What does your typical day at the Alley look like? Right now, it’s working with the Playmakers camp. But since I am doing my internship through my master’s program, my focus is on the Education & Community Engagement department as a whole, so I will be bouncing around a bit as the summer goes on. I’m working a lot on the Resourced Guides, which are available as a tool for teachers bringing their students to the Alley’s matinees.
Grayson Van Gundy: Education and Community Engagement, Play Makers
Hometown: Houston, TX
University: Butler University, class of 2027
What are you most looking forward to in your summer with the Alley? I was most looking forward to having my first real internship, especially in Theatre Education, because I wanted to gain experience in that field to aid my second degree, which I am pursuing alongside acting. I was also really looking forward to meeting people in the Houston theatre scene and gaining connections with really cool people.
What is your favorite memory at the Alley? My favorite memory at the Alley is of all the Playmaker interns eating lunch and being ourselves, just laughing about what’s going on in our days. It made me feel a sense of community. My other favorite memory is at the end of each session, when the group I am working with performs and does so well, looking out at the audience with smiles and pride.
Click HERE to learn more about our camps and other Education & Community Engagement programs!
