Who: Tracy Bersley, Head of Movement and Coach for Playmakers Repertory Company
Where: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
City: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

What advice would you give to new students about how they can build relationships and form communities in a new environment?

Find people with common interests, which means being willing to share parts of yourself that may not be obvious. But equally important is to extend out past your immediate arms reach, which means being willing to leave comfortable circles. Theatre programs can be very tight knit and sometimes you spend a LOT of time in the same building with the same people. Try finding a group, a club, a church choir, an intramural sports team–anything to break out the theatre and play at life a little.

What has been your favorite production and why?

This year Playmakers Rep in conjuncture with the MFA acting program started a Mobile Shakespeare program that played Measure for Measure in various locations around the triangle area. It was such a joy to experience actors in a tight space surrounded by seniors and children, all engaged in pure storytelling–no lights or sets, just the language and the actors bodies taking us to another time and place.

What are your favorite things to do off-campus in your free time?

Last weekend, my 6 year old daughter and I went to a neighboring town, Saxapahaw, to help build giant puppets, masks, and scenery for a company called Paper Hand Puppets. It’s an amazing scene. All ages and skill sets in an old community center making stuff for a live show that happens at the end of the summer. I also LOVE trail biking, which is plentiful in Chapel Hill.

Describe Chapel Hill in three words.
Charming
Historic
Progressive

Other fun things to do in Chapel Hill: