Isaac Hopkins, an English and theatre studies major, has found a home on the stage at UGA and beyond. The young playwright has already had four of his plays published.
Hometown:
Gainesville, Ga.
High School:
Gainesville High School
Degree objective:
B.A. in English, B.A. in theatre studies
Expected graduation:
Fall 2015
University highlights, achievements, awards and scholarships:
Dean’s List; Zell Miller Scholarship; New Georgia Award for New Plays; Presentation at Sigma Tau Delta Undergraduate Paper Conference (2013, 2014); Presentation at “Opera to Okra: Southern Culture Conference”; founding artistic director of North-East Georgia Stage Actors’ Guild; Stillpoint Literary Magazine staff; performed in three University Theatre main-stage productions.
Off-Broadway productions: “South of Someplace” (Lucille Lortel, 2013), Jimmy! A Musical Fable (Irondale Center, 2014). Published plays: “The Goatman Cometh,” “South of Someplace,” “We Three Queens” and “Let Rise.”
Current Employment:
Summer theatre liaison at Gainesville Parks and Recreation.
Family Ties to UGA:
Both parents attended in the 1970s.
I chose to attend UGA because…
Financial aid was a major factor, and being able to remain close to loved ones while attaining a world-class undergraduate degree at a Research I university were all very attractive to me. This also makes graduate school within reason.
My favorite things to do on campus are…
… bask in the sun on the lawn outside Park Hall during the timidly warm first days of spring.
When I have free time, I like…
What is free time? I love spending time with friends, shopping at thrift stores, being outside and have even started dabbling in folk art.
The craziest thing I’ve done is…
Taking over a 43,000-square-foot bank. I run a nonprofit theatre company out of Gainesville that a began a few years ago. Over this last Christmas, our troupe was lent an unused bank building, which we then converted to a temporary performance space for the premiere of my collaborator’s and my new musical, “258: A Musical Drama.”
My favorite place to study is…
One of the study nooks on the third floor of the main library—very rarely unoccupied, but when it is, I love that spot. It’s inscribed with some delightful lyrics from “Doses and Mimosas.”
My favorite professor is…
Ooh. Tough one. George Contini, Marla Carlson, Freda Scott Giles (emerita), the Brays and Ed Pavlic are definitely all in my pantheon.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with…
Not living: William Faulkner. (Hard to get away from one’s favorite author.)
Living: Edward Albee. Toni Morrison. Caryl Churhill. Ah! This is not easy … can I pick all of them?
If I knew I could not fail, I would…
… probably finish my novel. Or plan a carnival.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to…
… open an experimental folk theatre in Atlanta with a strong emphasis on new works.
After graduation, I plan to…
… attend graduate school, attaining an M.F.A. in playwriting.
The one UGA experience I will always remember will be…
… Snelling Dining Hall. Freshman year. Black coffee and chocolate fluff pie until 3 a.m. Ideas, conversations and stories with some incredible people.
