Mair Weiss sits on a stool at the front of a classroom giving a lecture.

alumni & engagement

                              

 

From LA to New York to right here in Lincoln, our alumni are moving on to work for Hollywood Blockbusters, Broadway musicals and more.

spotlight on alumni

Portrait of Elizabeth Baquet.

Elizabeth Baquet (BFA, 2012)

Baquet is a podcast executive for Mosaic Media where she oversees development and client pitches for podcast projects in a variety of genres. Mosaic Media’s A-list roster includes Will Ferrell, Judd Apatow, Jessica Chastain and Tessa Thompson. Additionally, Baquet oversees Ninth Planet Audio, Mosaic Media's in-house audio production company, which holds a first-look deal with iHeartRadio’s Big Money Players Network. Before joining Mosaic Media, Baquet served as Head of Production for PodcastOne where she developed and launched dozens of successful podcasts while supervising an in-house team of producers, editors, and engineers. She has also previously been director of production for Funny or Die. Her work on “Billy on the Street,” starring comedian Billy Eichner, earned her three Emmy Award nominations, as well as a PGA Award nomination, all before she turned 30.

Portrait of Abby Miller.

Abby Miller (BA, 2003)

Miller starred on the Apple TV+ original series “Home Before Dark.” Prior to this, she appeared as a series regular on “The Sinner,” where she played Officer Caitlin Sullivan opposite Bill Pullman. Her turn as Charles Manson follower Mary Brunner on “Aquarius” came on the heels of her dynamic turn as Ellen May on the FX original series “Justified.” She also recurred as Emily Greenstreet on “The Magicians.” Her other TV credits include “Imposters,” “Station 19,” “Snowfall,” “The Real O’Neal’s,” “The Catch,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” Law and Order SVU” and “Mad Men.” She has also appeared in numerous feature films, such as the 2010 Sundance Selection “One Too Many Mornings” and the indie feature “Congratulations,” which she co-wrote. Miller is also known as a singer with the band “Jen and Abby,” as well as a writer and producer of her own projects. She is represented by the prestigious Principal Entertainment LA agency in Los Angeles.

Portrait of Katie Williams.

Katie Williams (BFA, 2012)

Katie Williams works in the visual effects industry as a digital paint supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic’s Vancouver studio. ILM has been a mainstay in VFX for the last 49 years, receiving numerous Academy Awards, Emmys, BAFTAs, VES Awards, and Academy Sci-Tech Awards. Since joining ILM in 2019, Williams has contributed to over 35 film and television productions including “Star Wars: Episode IX,” “Black Widow,” “The Irishman,” and “The Mandalorian.” Williams advanced to a lead artist role in 2021 and later became a department supervisor in 2022. As a digital paint supervisor, she manages a team of artists across film, television, and commercial projects.

Portrait of David Duffy with Disney World Castle in the background.

David Duffy (BA, 1988)

David Duffy, Walt Disney World’s vice president of live entertainment, has worked for Disney since 1989 when he took his theater arts degree and headed to Orlando. He wanted to act and was cast as a 1930s film director at what was then Disney MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) as part of a daily street performance troupe. After six years of performing in shows across the Walt Disney World theme parks and other Orlando stages, Duffy pivoted and served as a production assistant for entertainment projects, which led to writing and directing smaller-scale Disney shows and events. His 35-year Disney career includes stints with increasing responsibilities across the four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in Orlando, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland Resort in California and, most recently, Disneyland Paris.

Portrait of Kristin Hensley.

Kristin Hensley (BA, 1998)

Hensley is the star and co-creator of the popular web series #IMOMSOHARD, which lives natively on Facebook, but has expanded to Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. The series focuses on the friendship between two women, who happen to be moms. After 15 million views, Hensley and co-creator Jen Smedley, decided to take their act on the road and have done several national tours of #IMOMSOHARD throughout the U.S. The videos have now received nearly 300 million views worldwide in just five years. In addition to videos and tours, the two have a podcast and have written two books.

After graduating from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a degree in theater and a minor in education, she went on to receive her master's degree in education while also appearing in TV shows like “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn 99.” She has also appeared in more than 100 national commercials.

Portrait of Aja Jackson.

Aja Jackson (BFA, 2013)

After receiving her BFA at Nebraska and her MFA at Boston College, Jackson has lighting designed professionally with Yeager Design, lighting Microsoft corporate events, as well as for Huntington Theatre, Hartford Stage Company, the Alley Theatre and the Omaha Community Playhouse. She was also a guest lighting designer for the Nebraska Repertory Theatre’s “Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea.”

As associate lighting designer for Bradley King, Jackson and their team were Tony nominated for “Fat Ham” in 2023. Her off-Broadway credits include “A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet” in 2022.

She teaches at Boston College. And her role as Board Chair of Brighter Boston, an internship program that trains high school students in event production, highlights her dedication to fostering creativity and artistic growth. She is a member of United Scenic Artists USA 829.

recent achievements

A stage with players costumed as horse skull headed Nazgul.

Alumna Hilt in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ musical heading to New Zealand

Mia Hilt (B.A. 2022 Theatre Performance and Dance), was in the new “The Lord of the Rings—A Musical Tale” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater this summer.

Read Mia's Story
The Nebraska N logo statue.

Weiss returning as 2023 Alumni Master for Hixson-Lied College

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film alumna Mari Weiss (M.F.A. 1988) is one of nine alumni named to the 2023 class of Alumni Masters by the Nebraska Alumni Association.

Read Mari's Story
A close up of a digital cameras screen showing a recent photo with the model in the background.

Carson EMA grads get opportunity of a lifetime through Lola partnership

A team of Huskers helped bring “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” to the big screen, part of a growing partnership between the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts and Lola Visual Effects.

Read the Story

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