Theater student Alena Rose BFA ’24 is blazing a trail for other actors.
“The biggest thing for me, especially being a Black plus-sized woman in this industry, is truly actually blurring the lines of what certain identities can play,” says Rose. “There is a big bias in terms of how Black women may only be able to do comedies or can’t be the love interest, and so I really use my identity to challenge that.”
Rose, whose acting roles with Rutgers Theater Company include Vanessa in Heavenly Fools, Macbeth in Macbeth, Messenger (0.1+0.2)/Adriana B in The Komedie of Errors, Barbarina/Singing and Dancing Water in The Little Green Birdie, and Aphrodite and James K. Polk in Damocles, among others, says she chose to study at Mason Gross because of its “community-centered program” that asks students what kind of artists they want to be.
“Just having that question from the beginning made me think okay, so they trust what I want to do and they’re going to strengthen and help me and give me the tools that I need,” Rose says. “I want to change the world for the better…and it starts with seeing people that you can trust in the industry.”
Video produced by John Munson/University Communications & Marketing