Theater major Emme Geissal ’09, from St. Louis, has already performed in her first professional gig. Thanks to Occidental’s location near the heart of the entertainment industry, last year Geissal was able to audition for a role in the L.A. Women’s Shakespeare Co.’s production of “As You Like It.” She won the role of Dennis the Page. “It was very intimidating, because some of the women were so good—they’ve been all over the place,” Geissal said. “And I’ve got three lines and I’m in college.” One of the troupe’s actresses is now her vocal coach.

Currently a junior at Occidental, she has added a minor in critical theory and social justice. “Acting is really my passion,” says Geissal,  who played Paula in “Fefu and Her Friends,” which was performed at Keck Theater in November. “I want to be an actor but I also want to do something that’s more directly involved in social justice causes.”

Right now rehearsals five days a week take up much of her spare time, but last year Geissal was president of the College’s Queer-Straight Alliance.

Taking classes such as “Whiteness” and “Blackness” as part of her minor has helped Geissal “become more aware of the structural forms of racism, and little things that are exercises in white privilege… I feel like my eyes have been slightly opened in terms of how I can be a more productive member of society, in terms of how I behave, how I interact with others. I’m not saying I totally understand it or agree with everything. But I think these classes have provided me with a unique way of looking at things that I otherwise would’ve taken for granted.”

“I’ve thought about what it would be like to go to a school with a bigger focus on theater,” says Geissal, who chose Oxy because of its small enrollment, strong academic tradition and urban location. “But I love it here. It’s a beautiful place, I’ve got great friends and I’m taking great classes.”  Now if only she can figure out how she will  promote social justice causes “while making toothpaste commercials.”