Emily Shipp, a fourth-year English student, discovered her calling to be a writer (and self-published her first novel) before she was old enough to drive. She developed her talent as a child through poetry and short stories and has since explored new artistic mediums like documentary and silent film. She interned at the Cannes Film Festival in France last summer where her drive, vigor and, perhaps most notably, her screenplay impressed executives. After pitching a well-received action film story-line, Emily was flown to Los Angeles to present her story to Hollywood screenwriters and executives. She continues to develop her action film, with plans to complete it by her May graduation. In addition, Emily is developing a romantic comedy as well as a few television pilots. She wrote, directed and produced the love story music video, “What Happened,” which explores how young people court and forge relationships. Watch it on her YouTube channel, eshipp3423.


Second-year pharmacy student Matt Broome is the creator and designer of Southern S.N.O.B. Merely five months after its launch, his clothing line, inspired by his outdoor lifestyle and love of nature, is sold in five states. As his line began to pervade the fashion scene, Southern S.N.O.B.’s Facebook fans grew from 400 to 18,000 in 72 hours.
“It’s surreal, but it’s fun,” Matt says. “Here I am in pharmacy school, getting out of a lab and ordering fabric samples, making calls to Peru.”
Proceeds from the line, deemed “The Original Southern Conservation Clothier,” whose mission it is to preserve the outdoor experience, benefit the National Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited and the Coastal Conservation Association. Southern S.N.O.B., this year’s official shirt of the Carolina Cup, will debut its new line of polos at Bows and Beaus, a fashion show hosted by Fashion Board at USC, on Feb. 29th  at 7 p.m. in the Russell House ballroom. Shop Southern S.N.O.B.’s collections online at www.southernsnob.com and in town at Brittons of Columbia.
Twitter: @SouthernSnobs


Fourth-year BFA art student Allison Brown doesn’t strive to make a statement, profound, political or otherwise, with her ceramics work. Whether viewing her life-size human figure or one of the 40 masks she made while studying art in Taiwan, she wants you to explore your instinctual response, to make your own discoveries. Allison explores the human form to develop creature-like figures, often endowing them with animal elements.
“There’s something about animals and how we interact with them,” she says. “We can’t converse, but somehow we understand them, that they have affection for us, that they mourn. That’s what I try to touch in my art: innate emotion that transcends language and culture.”

See Allison’s work in a group show, The Convergence of Climax and Chaos: A Romantic Ideal, on May 7 from 7 p.m. to midnight at Granby Mills Apartments (2nd floor hallway of the second building) and in her solo showcase from April 29 to May 13 in the McMaster Student Gallery.


Fourth-year theatre student Brittany Price Anderson is the creator and director of Tomfoolery, a classic love story and comedy in the improvised theater style called “commedia dell’arte.” As part of her honors college senior thesis, she conceptualized the work to show that improvised pieces allow audiences to better interact with the actors, providing a more real, dynamic experience.
“I’m excited to expose the audience to improv in an organized fashion,” Brittany says. “I think they will be surprised by our cast’s abilities. I know I am. My cast amazes me every day.”
Brittany studied last summer at Dell’arte International Physical Theater in California. Over half of her show, in which the actors use masks, will be improvised, and the rest is from a script produced by Brittany and her cast. She has faced challenges throughout the creative and rehearsal process but has welcomed them.
“My actors always have new ideas and want to put so much on the table that I have to rein people in,” she says. “I’m lucky. It’s a wonderful problem to solve every night.”

See Tomfoolery from Feb. 23 to 26 in the Lab Theatre. Each show is at 8 p.m. and costs $5.