Alumna pursues acting, singing, modeling

September 2, 2009

“I pretty much knew I had the dream of being on Broadway when I was a little girl,” said Amy Riddle ’03. “I used to sing to the soundtrack of Phantom of the Opera. I knew then that I wanted to sing and eventually live in New York.”

After she started singing solos in church, Riddle performed with the South Carolina Children's Theatre and was involved in all of her middle school and high school productions. One defining moment for her was when she played Dorothy in her middle school's production of The Wizard of Oz.

“I was only 14 years old, and I remember being very nervous,” Riddle said, “but I also knew that the stage was my home.”

At PC, she majored in music performance, specializing in vocal performance. The PC cheerleader and Dance Team member was also a member of the PC Choir, Opera Workshop, and Delta Omicron.

Riddle took advantage of countless opportunities to perform, singing at cultural enrichment events and as the choir soloist for Christmas and Holy Week concerts. She also sang during the President's Dinner and at the 2003 graduation.

In addition, Riddle played the role of Lucy in The Telephone, a one-act operetta for two singers.

Although she had been performing for years, Riddle never seriously considered music as a career until her junior year at PC.

“My voice teacher, Dr. Joyce Ford, my choir director, Dr. Porter Stokes, and my accompanist and piano teacher, Dr. Karen Buckland, encouraged and pushed me to believe in myself, practice everyday, and to take the next step,” Riddle said.

“I still remember an email from Dr. Stokes telling me that I had so much talent,” she said. “He asked me whether I wanted to discover my greatest potential and all the wonderful possibilities or would I rather ‘ride off and fade away into the sunset.’"

“His words became the fuel to my fire,” Riddle said.

After PC

Riddle decided to apply to the top music schools and ended up choosing The Boston Conservatory under the direction of Stokes and Ford. There, she was cast in her first main stage opera playing the title soprano role of Queen Tye in Philip Glass's opera Akhnaten.

“I felt honored because this role was vocally challenging for a soprano,” she said, “but I felt well-prepared thanks to Dr. Ford.”

After she earned her master’s in classical voice at Boston Conservatory, Riddle felt “kind of lost,” she said. Riddle found herself once being cast as Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret in a theatre in Boston. She knew then that she wanted to go back to her musical theatre roots.

Stokes and Ford invited her to return to PC to perform in a one-woman show called Women of Valor, featuring arias and musical theatre songs.

To New York City

With her former professors’ help Riddle decided to pursue a master’s degree in music theatre at New York University.

“NYU was one of the best decisions I ever made as a singer,” Riddle said. “The NYU faculty, like PC, pushed me to my greatest limit by helping me to conquer my fears, discover my greatest potential, and understand who I am as an actor, singer, and a person.”

Since graduating from NYU, Riddle has remained in New York City, where she pursues acting, singing, and modeling. She recently returned to New York after playing the role of Nimue in the two-month run of Camelot in Springboro, OH.

In May, she was cast as an extra playing a college graduate in It's Complicated, a film starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and John Krasinski. Riddle was also a featured model in New York photographer Josh Merwin's portfolio debut in July. In August, she modeled in a photo shoot and was featured in Tahir, an online New York boutique for vintage and emerging designers.

“I have always believed in myself, but I don't know where I would be without the people that continued to push me to do greater things,” Riddle said. “I am forever grateful for the opportunities, the encouragement, and the hope that Dr. Stokes, Dr. Ford, and Dr. Buckland gave to me.

“PC will always have a special place in my heart because it changed my life as a singer, an actor, and a person,” she said. “PC is where my ambition was ignited and where my appreciation and passion for music truly began.”

posted by Stacy Dyer '96
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