SUNY Cortland: Emily Woods

Emily Woods is a student in musical theater at SUNY Cortland.

How did you know you wanted to be in the theater?

I discovered my passion for musical theater when I was about 12 years old in my first production of “Peter Pan.” It was a high school show, but I auditioned and was the youngest person cast! Ever since then, I've been hooked. I was in a bunch of productions in high school and in the community, and I knew I wanted to do this with my life. When I was auditioning for colleges, I found SUNY Cortland, which was my perfect fit!

What’s your favorite part about performing?

Since going to SUNY Cortland, I have learned a lot more about performing and musical theater than I thought I possible! My favorite part about performing is being able to embody characters that can be very different from myself, and being able to bring someone else's story to life.

What’s hardest about performing?

Though performing is my dream, it can be challenging to be emotionally vulnerable at pretty much all times; but through that, you learn a lot about who you are, which is easily one of the most rewarding things about theater.

What’s your favorite thing about SUNY Cortland?

My favorite part about Cortland is the size! Cortland is a small school, so you are able to develop greater relationships with your professors and your peers. I feel that it is very important to have a level of trust in a place where you have to be your most vulnerable; and at Cortland, that level of trust is most definitely there. With that, I know that I can trust each member of the faculty to guide me in my career as an actor. It's a hard business, but choosing to go to Cortland has made me confident in the fact that I will be able to do it!