What Do You Do With a Degree in Drama?

Drama students often wonder what career possibilities exist after graduation. To help answer this question, we are bringing back three of our alumni who are working in the field and are keen to share their experiences. Which courses did they take at Queen’s and which extra-curricular activities did they participate in? What are they doing now? What advice do they have for current students? Please join Dr. Kelsey Jacobson in conversation with Meghan Froebelius (Soulpepper, Shaw Festival), Cody McCallum (Cody Calligraphy & Design), and Brittany Allan (Toronto International Film Festival) and take the next step in visualizing your career.

Meghan Froebelius is first and foremost a stage manager, even after having once been told (in considering stage management as a career), “If you can think of anything else you’d rather do, do that instead.” She couldn’t think of anything else she’d rather do (having tried really hard to do so) and has since gone on to work at theatres such as Soulpepper, Canadian Stage, Centaur Theatre, The Thousand Islands Playhouse, and has just finished her 5th season at the Shaw Festival (including two seasons as assistant producer). Meghan is a graduate of Queen’s University and The National Theatre School of Canada.

Cody McCallum (she/her) is the business owner, entrepreneur, designer and calligrapher behind Cody Calligraphy & Design -- a purveyor of fine stationery, writing tools, and calligraphy education. She designs and prints luxury foil & letterpress stationery in her home studio and teaches the art of calligraphy through Calligraphy Workshops (at venues throughout the City of Kingston and online to students worldwide). Cody's client base spans the globe, with her work is featured in print and online publications such as Wedluxe Magazine, Equally Wed, Style Me Pretty, and more. Cody also founded The Letter Writers Club™ -- a community and subscription box for stationery lovers.

Brittany Allan is Senior Manager of Industry at the Toronto International Film Festival. Her main priorities are managing and producing the annual marketplace during TIFF, an event that attracts 6000+ industry professionals representing 89 countries from around the world. Responsible for contributing over 4 million dollars to the organization’s annual revenue generating efforts, she has extensive experience in both people and project management, programme design as well as partnership cultivation that is geared towards supporting Canada’s emerging cinema talent and TIFF's overall mission. Since graduating from Queen’s in 2013, Brittany has served on the board of Focus Film Festival and worked for a variety of non-profit organizations in Programming and Artist Development including the Whistler Film Festival and The Banff Centre for the Arts. She’s currently working on completing her PMP certification and does freelance work as a business manager for independent artists.