Alumni

Bullock attended East Carolina University, and received her training in the Professional Acting program and has gone on to become one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.

 In California she was cast in a serios of small roles in several films as well as in the lead role in the television version of  Working Girl.  One of Bullock’s first notable movie appearances was in Demolition Man, which led to her breakthrough performance in Speed.  Other films have included, While You Were Sleeping, Miss Congeniality, Two Weeks Notice, Crash, The Lake House, Infamous, Premonition, The New, Hope Floats, Practical Magic, Prince of Egypt, and Forces of Nature.

Manley Pope graduated from ECU in 1990.  He completed training in the Meisner Technique with Don Biehn.

Pope moved to New York City where he performed on Broadway alongside Joey Fatone of N'Sync, and touring America with Roger Daltrey of The Who.

 In addition to receiving rave reviews for his work in Tommy at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Pope played Broadway as “Roger,” in the Tony Award-winning Rent, as well as starred in the pre-Broadway productions of Miramax's All Shook Up and The Public's The Unknown. Pope also starred in such films as the festival favorite Feeding the Machine and Paramount's music industry satire, Marci X, opposite Lisa Kudrow.

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2006 Tony Award for Jersey Boys

1993 Tony Award nomination for Kiss of the Spider Woman

Howell Binkley doesn't categorize himself: he is simply a lighting designer. Broadway, Off Broadway, regional theatre, dance — it's all the same to him: a passion.

Binkley's design approach is heavily influenced by his early career, which is rich in dance.  Binkley was lighting supervisor for the Paul Taylor Dance Company. It was there that he met choreographer David Parsons and started a dance company in 1986.

“Some people tell me — and I think they're right — that I take dance lighting into my theatre work. It's all about the focus: Where does the eye go? How are we training the audience's eye to focus? Do we want it on this dancer here or do we want it on the cyc? In my work I try not to lose that focus of where that eye should be.”

After graduation from ECU, Williamson moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. Though he landed a part on the soap opera Another World, he moved to California where he had small parts on In Living Color, and in music videos. 

After taking classes on screenwriting at UCLA he wrote a horror movie script which became Scream.  This was followed by I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, Scream 3 and The Faculty.  He also wrote a series for The WB, Dawson’s Creek.

 Christian Keiber, on location as drug-dealer “Teddy Burke” in CBS’s Cold Case. Congratulations, Christian! We’ll be looking for your episode, “Forever Blue”.

Keiber began his acting career in both theater and television productions throughout the New York area. After graduating from East Carolina University, where he studied the intensive Meisner Technique with famed professor Donald E. Biehn, Keiber returned to New York to pursue his acting, where he was invited to become the youngest member in history of the most prestigious actors club in the world, "The Players", whose members since 1888 include: Mark Twain, James Cagney, Walt Disney, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Katherine Hepburn, Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, and Lord Laurence Olivier, to name a few.

Keiber was cast in the Sony Pictures film, No Way Back. This became the beginning of a varied film and television career. Among other credits, major roles in My Favorite Martian, Michael Hayes, Dr. Vegas,  Without A Trace, Cold Case, Charmed, JAG, For Da Love Of Money. Currently, Keiber is fielding development deals for a number of screenplays he has written for his production company, Creative Alley Productions which was featured on N.P.R. station as the Young Mavericks of Hollywood and just starred in the feature film, Wasabi Tuna.

I have some news from the world of a working actor: After having an audition for a background character in a Burger King commercial, the casting directors asked to see me again during callbacks for the featured character and after 2 callbacks I got the part! So, now you're looking at the latest addition to the Whopper Family,.....Spicy Chicken Sandwich! I had an 8 hour shoot yesterday, and the commercial may start airing 2-3 weeks from now. The entire audition and callback process was improv(maybe a note for your students?). Well, there you go! Thanks for staying in touch and send my best to the students and faculty of the Theatre and Dance Department!

Go Pirates!

I'm currently doing motion capture and voice over work for a company called 321Launch. The company utilizes the same technology that created the "Lord of the Rings" 'Gollum' character to make mostly test commercials for ad agencies with a few other random spots for different things, the most exciting being a 3D animated series called 'Evil Train'.  As an actor, I wear a "mo-cap" suit which is fitted with reflective markers that reflect back all of my movements (down to my slightest eyebrow twitch) to the 14 cameras situated around the motion capture room.  The fourteen cameras are used to create a completely 3D image of me which is then layered over with the character and is placed in whatever the setting is for the scene. I'm their full-time actor, so I come in every morning, suit up, and shoot whatever they need. In the past month that I've worked there I've shot over 15 commercials for companies like Kit Kat, Trident, Dentyne and Gillette and we have finished filming the first episode of 'Evil Train' which should be available online after post-production.   I've actually just recently used the commercial copy experience that I've been getting from this job to land myself a commercial agent. So, who knows, I might get called in for a commercial I've already done!

Film_____________________________________________________

Antarctica                         Antarctica/lead      Dir. Jen Morin

Dreaming Reality         Jenny/lead             Dir.A.Bagboudarian

The Meeting                 Shelia/lead            New School, NYC

Perchance To Dream     Susan/lead            USC Grad Film

 Theatre__________________________________________________

Parks 365 Festival          Play #21             Circle X Theatre Co.

2X4, NYC                       Marie                 TipMyCup Productions

Last Dance of                 Principal            Theatre of the Great Tree

     My People 

Shadow Play                     Margaret Richie  Santa Monica College

Since graduation, credits include: Come Fly with Me (Schoolhouse Theatre, FL), Jesus Christ Superstar, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Naples Dinner Theatre, FL), La Cage Aux Folles, Thoroughly Modern Millie (Cohoes Music Hall, NY), Spirit of the Season (Prather’s Broadway Palm, FL), Blues in the Night (Ray Kennedy Entertainment, Palm Beach Princess, FL) Kiss Me Kate (Arizona Broadway Theatre).  Regina will be joining the cast of the Ms Prinsendam of Holland America Cruise line.  Favorite credits: Gypsy (Louise), A Chorus Line (Sheila), Flora the Red Menace (Comrade Charlotte), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator), Peter Pan (Tiger Lily). 

At ECU, she founded and served as President of East Carolina Musical Theatre Association and participated in numerous productions and dance concerts with distinguished guest artists such as Eddy Ocampo and Paul Sutherland.  Miss Gatti danced with the East Carolina Dance Association and competed with honors at numerous American College Dance Festival Association conferences. 

Last February (as a senior) I went to UPTA in Memphis and got a number of callbacks.  Out of the callback interviews I had 4 job offers on the spot.  One of which, was in Wichita, Kansas at the Crown Uptown Dinner Theatre.   While in Kansas I was in "Pickin and Grinnin" , in which I sang songs by Patsy Cline and Martina McBride; then was Woman #1 in "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change"; then "Singing in the Rain"  playing the lead role of Kathy Seldon.  While in Wichita I got an offer from a theatre in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for a 6 month contract, and and have been doing 2 shows a day, 6 days a week.  Our show here is a musical revue and includes segments from the Golden Age of Hollywood, a 1970's section (where I sing "Respect" and "Aint No Mountain High Enough"), a country section (where I sing a Dixie Chicks song, a Patsy Cline song, and a Patty Loveless song), and then a patriotic section and our finale.   This show is also very choreography-intensive. Next came a call from Carnival Cruise Line offering me a 9 month contract aboard the Carnival Celebration, starting in September. I will rehearse for 4 weeks in Miami and then be cruising the Bahamas for 8 months! 

 I'm so incredibly thankful for the training I received at ECU.  I know a lot of people go straight out of high school and try to do these things and I know I wouldn't have survived.   I feel prepared for everything this business has to offer because of the experience and training that I got in my years at ECU.

After receiving her BFA in Professional Acting Training in '04, Lesley performed in regional productions of Chicago as "Roxie Hart" and in Cats as "Cassandra". She then moved to New York , where she has worked as an actress and print model for Canon, Mattel, Fuse, Cosmopolitan, and Rescue Me.  Lesley has been awarded the George Grizzard Fellowship from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, beginning in fall, '07, where she will earn her MFA in Dramatic Art-Acting. This summer, before moving to Chapel Hill, she will play the leading role of "Corrie banks" in the ECU/Loessin Summer Theatre production of Barefoot in the Park.

Photo: Lesley as "Li'l Bit" with Chris Hill as "Uncle Peck" in How I learned to Drive.

Miranda is currently the Supervisor of Scenery (Technical Director) at Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, Florida, an Equity Company.  In the summer she will return to The Berkshire Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, for her fourth summer, and has been promoted to Asst. Technical Director.  In the fall, '07, she will begin the MFA program at UNC-Chapel Hill in Technical Direction.  She has a full tuition waiver and will also be provided with living expenses for the year.