Creative Careers Take Center Stage
Ampersand festival celebrates the arts with alumni and industry filmmakers, writers and performers
March 2, 2026
By
Isabella Dunn ’28
This year’s Ampersand International Arts Festival will spotlight accomplished William & Mary alumni among a lineup of arts and entertainment standouts — including “Wicked” screenwriter Dana Fox, former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Cecily Strong and actor Leslie David Baker, best known as Stanley from the Emmy-winning series “The Office.”
Documentary filmmaker Chelsea Marotta ’12 and Emmy-nominated comedy writer Jenny Hagel ’98 will lead workshops. London-based playwright Christopher Adams ’08 will hold a live script reading of his play “Venison” with W&M student actors. Renata Sheppard ’04 and her partner Emmanuel Mallette will perform the mixed media dance composition “Perfect Broken,” which integrates drawing and choreography.
“There is something for everyone at the festival,” says Liz Sykes ’06, who is heading up the event along with Adam Stackhouse ’04.
Now entering its 19th year, the weeklong festival has expanded beyond its early focus on film screenings to showcase a wide range of artistic genres, along with author talks and professional workshops, all rooted in its mission of making education about careers in the arts accessible to the campus and broader community.
“The festival is driven by alumni involvement,” Stackhouse says.
The W&M Alumni Association is sponsoring a Festival Reception on March 21 hosted by the Muscarelle Museum of Art to celebrate the participating artists and industry professionals. Tickets for the event are $20, and free for performers, panelists and sponsors. The reception includes appetizers, beer and wine, along with full access to the museum’s galleries, including the current exhibition “Abstract Expressionists: The Women.”
Many of the alumni will be active in multiple aspects of the festival. Marotta, who was named one of Variety’s New Leaders of 2025, has worked on major sports documentaries featuring athletes such as Simone Biles and Serena Williams. Her latest project, “The Fastest Six Weeks in Sports,” will be screened on March 20.
Hagel, an Emmy nominee and writer and performer for “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” will present her comedy show, “Jenny Hagel Gives Advice,” on March 21.
Kyle Carrero Lopez ’17, a writer whose work has been published in The Yale Review, New York Magazine, The Nation, Poetry and The New Republic, will present his latest book, “Party Line,” on March 18 as part of the Author Talks portion of the festival.
Besides performances, alumni will lead workshops and participate in the festival’s Industry Summit, where they share insights from their professional careers. Along with Marotta, Hagel, Adams and Carrero Lopez, speakers include documentary filmmaker Lauretta Prevost ’05, artist Zara Fina Stasi ’12, director Bryan G. Thompson J.D. ’12 and William & Mary Director of Creative Careers Cristen McQuillan M.Ed. ’15. (Read an interview with Hagel and more about the Industry Summit in the W&M News article “Ampersand festival's Industry Summit blends inspiration with instruction.”)
Alumni are excited to share their knowledge, says Sykes, adding that they want to engage with students because many of them remember attending the festival when they were students themselves. She hopes current students take advantage of the opportunity to connect, noting that the event often sparks cross-generational relationships that lead to internships and career opportunities.
In addition to alumni, well-known special guests will perform and lead workshops. Leslie David Baker and Cecily Strong will headline events on March 20 and 21. There will also be screenings followed by Q&A discussions with directors, actors and writers. These conversations include “Wicked” screenwriter Dana Fox, “Marcella” director Peter Miller and actors Lisa Brenner from “One Big Happy Family” and Greg Sestero from “The Room Returns.” The screenings will take place on and off campus, many of them at the Kimball Theatre. Some events are free, while others require tickets. View the full Ampersand International Arts Festival schedule.
Among the performers are previous festival participants such as Asher Perlman, a comedian, writer, and cartoonist for The New Yorker. He was a guest last year and is now returning with a group of comedians he has been touring with over the last year to perform “Humor Magazine Live” on March 19.
“We're just excited to have this kind of programming in Williamsburg, and give people an opportunity to see these creators that they otherwise wouldn't have an opportunity to see,” says Sykes.
Other festival attendees are alumni who return to campus every year for the event, treating it as a kind of homecoming. According to Stackhouse, some have not missed a year in the decade he has been involved.
“It's a chance to reconnect, network and show off what you do, and it's really energizing for everybody involved,” Stackhouse says.
That sense of community is especially visible during the 24 Speed Filmmaking Competition events, with one version for current students and another for alumni. Participating students and alumni have 24 hours to create a film after being given a piece of dialogue, a prop and a genre. Many alumni and community members return annually to support the competition. Screenings will be held March 17 at Kimball Theatre and March 21 at PBK Hall Studio Theatre.
According to Sykes, Zach Keifer ’07 and Ted Hogeman ’09 have coordinated the alumni version of the 24 Speed Screenings for about 15 years, helping ensure the program runs smoothly and that alumni and the study body remain engaged. The student competition is managed by the Reeder Media Center in Swem Library.
“We want to continue growing that community of people that come back every year,” Sykes says. “Community building is a big focus for the Ampersand festival.”
For both Sykes and Stackhouse, that sense of community is personal. Along with being the festival’s producers, they are also alumni, and have witnessed the festival’s evolution with the personal perspective of former students.
Stackhouse, who was a film studies student during the early years of William & Mary’s film studies program, says he and fellow alumni have enjoyed watching both the academic program and the festival evolve, grow and expand each year. The film studies program has made huge strides since his time as a student, earning W&M a listing among the top 30 film schools in the country by MovieMaker magazine.
Sykes says one of the most meaningful aspects of the festival for her is seeing alumni reconnect with campus.
“It’s really satisfying when someone comes back and has their connection moment as an alum to the campus at this festival,” she says. But most rewarding is “being able to see all the work that is being done by alumni in the arts.”