Tess Cunningham will graduate from Indiana University in May 2018 with dual degrees in Theatre and Ancient History. She grew up in Spencer, Indiana, where her love of performance was fostered in her high school’s varsity show choir and Performing Arts Academy.
Once in college, Tess devoted herself wholeheartedly to her studies in the performing arts. Throughout college, she has studied voice— with pieces ranging in style from Puccini to Etta James— as well as several styles of dance— including jazz, tap, modern, and ballet. Tess also served for two years as a piccolo player in the Indiana University Marching Hundred, with whom she performed at Yankee Stadium in the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl.
In her time at IU, Tess has enjoyed taking on mainstage roles such as Irina in Three Sisters, Decius Brutus in Julius Caesar, and Chris Mundy in Dancing at Lughnasa. She has also loved being a member of the school’s only undergraduate-run theatre troupe, University Players, with whom she has had the honor of working on multiple productions and workshops as an actor, designer, and dramaturg.
Tess also has a love of teaching, and she has been a counselor and instructor for multiple performing arts camps around the Bloomington area, including the IU Midsummer Theatre program, Bloomington Playwrights Project’s Youth Education program, and the Owen Valley High School band and guard program. This summer, Tess can be seen performing with the Jewish Theatre of Bloomington as Alex in Church and State. She is excited to move to Boston in the fall of 2018 to pursue her career post-college.
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The College of Arts