Alyssa Miles ’25 describes her artistic process as an expression of motion and emotion — whether she’s on set filming, choreographing a new piece, or working on her music.
“If you’re an artist, that can be a forever label that doesn’t just have to exist when someone hires you,” says Miles, a theatre and dance double major at Muhlenberg.
During the spring of her senior year, an email from her agent sent her into a whirlwind of Zoom auditions conducted from campus studios, culminating in her landing the starring role of Emmy Ward on the new series “Hollywood Arts.”
At Muhlenberg, Miles immersed herself in art, from mainstage theatre productions and a cappella to studying abroad at the Accademia dell’Arte in Italy. Her background in physical theatre, improvisation, and composition laid the foundation for her post-graduation career.
[Muhlenberg[ wasn’t like a traditional school where you’re given a track, specifically, for four years. It's like you’re given a sledding hill instead of a roller coaster track — you can pick things along the way. I ended up studying so many things outside of just performing.
How did your time at Muhlenberg shape your approach to performance and learning?
“It wasn’t like a traditional school where you’re given a track, specifically, for four years. It’s like you’re given a sledding hill instead of a roller coaster track — you can pick things along the way. I ended up studying so many things outside of just performing, like different sciences and worldly things. Mind and Brain, a neuroscience class with [Stanley Road Professor of Neuroscience] Jeremy Teissere, was everything to me and totally expanded the way I think in the world and in artistry. When I studied abroad in Italy at the Accademia, it shaped my discipline a lot. I recommend it to everybody.”
What was the audition process like for “Hollywood Arts”?
“I first auditioned for Jen Z., a different character, and then I got a callback for Emmy. I would reserve a studio at school, set up my little backdrop, and put a sign on the door that said ‘audition in progress.’ By the second or third call, Daniella Monet joined. After chemistry reads where we got to improv, we all got prank-called and told that we got the role, which was very Nickelodeon of them to do. I was supposed to get a call by a specific day. I got on this Zoom, and all the producers went on mute and turned their cameras off, so it was just me and Daniella. She was like, ‘I understand the waiting game. It’s so hard. We have no idea still. We’ll see. You’re very talented.’ Eventually she was like, ‘Which is why I’m gonna be doing this show with you.’ She did it differently for everyone. She told one of our castmates that Paramount was shutting down and the show was on pause or maybe canceled and then was like, ‘You got it.’”
What was filming like?
“During filming, we’d rehearse on Monday and film two episodes from Tuesday to Friday with weekends off. When I wasn’t filming, I was trying everyone else’s job — I would sit in video village and banter with the writers, hold a boom, or run the camera on rehearsals to see how that whole world worked.”
What advice would you give to current performing arts students?
“You have so much autonomy to be making anything you want to make, ever. It can seem like you’re just waiting around for the next job, but what about when you’re brushing your teeth in the morning, during your commute, or before you go to bed? You could be singing, journaling, or texting friends saying, ‘Let’s choreograph something tomorrow.’ You have full power over your own life to claim that title, always. Also, zone in on your classes and don’t take them for granted. The assignments you’re given are such a sandbox to explore and do whatever you want in.”