Dreher drama program inspires Broadway star Anna Camp
By Sydney Kornegay
Cub@TheColumbiaStar.com

Anna Camp has always caused a scene, or at least played in one. The South Carolinian, once a member of the drama program at Dreher, now stars in the Off Broadway production of The Scene in New York City and has received rave reviews from theater critics for her top- notch performances.

Camp, however, attributed her success back to her family, school, and experiences in Columbia.

"My sister, Saluda Camp, is also an actress working in NYC," Camp said. "She really inspired me to become an actress. We would watch old movies together… and I just knew I wanted to act."

Camp started taking classes at Workshop Theater in the second grade and was later actively involved in the drama program at Dreher. Camp received Thespian of the Year while studying there, and either acted, helped backstage, or ran the lights in almost every drama production.

"Both my parents supported my dream throughout high school and really helped me get to New York to continue to follow it."

After receiving her B.F.A. from the North Carolina School of Arts in 2004, Camp packed everything she owned in a U- Haul van and headed to New York City. Thanks to NCSA's program, she was already signed up with an acting agency when she arrived. Camp even had an audition the day after she moved in.

Since then, Camp has played in numerous commercials and theater productions. Her most famous, however, has been her role as Clea in the play The Scene . In the story, Clea is a seemingly ditzy but dangerous blonde who moves from Ohio to Manhattan. There, she seduces a struggling actor named Charlie sending his life and the lives of his wife Stella and his friend Lewis into a comic tailspin.

Camp first played in The Scene , written by Theresa Rebeck, in the Humana Festival in Kentucky. She was invited to reprise her role in the off-Broadway performance in New York City last January. The part won her a nomination for the Lucielle Lortel award for best supporting actress.

Camp said the role was "liberating to play," and that it afforded her the opportunity to learn from other experienced actors. Camp's co- stars include Tony Shalhoub (Charlie) from the TV series Monk, Patricia Heaton (Stella) from Everybody loves Raymond , and Christopher Evan Welch (Charlie's friend), who's played in numerous Broadway productions, including A Streetcar Named Desire and The Crucible.

Camp is currently living in Queens, New York. She just finished shooting a television show called Reinventing the Wheelers in Charleston and hopes it will get picked up in the fall.

"I'm grateful for the creative experiences I received at Dreher," she said. "They helped me get to where I am today!"