By Tyler Conrad ’17
THE ROUNDUP
Stokley Berg ’18 has already made his mark in the theatre department, largely because he had discovered his love for acting since long before freshman year.
“My favorite aspect of the plays is getting to connect with other actors and getting to display someone who I’m not to other people, I just think that that’s fun,” Berg said.
In just two years at Brophy, Berg has already been in four school productions: “Our Town,” “Footloose,” “Christmas Carol” and “The Addams Family.” For “Our Town,” Berg was awarded a National Youth Arts nomination for leading actor in a play.
In addition to receiving the NYA for the part, Stokley also said that playing the Narrator in “Our Town” was his favorite performance.
“I feel like that’s the best performance that I’ve ever had, it felt to me personally like I wowed the audience most with that,” he said.
Outside of Brophy, Berg has partaken in a variety of other shows over the past years, including “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “Aladdin,” “Cinderella,” “Heathers-the Musical” and “Seussical.”
Senior Elias Sabbagh ’17 has co-starred with Berg in multiple shows both in and outside of Brophy, and said he continuously enjoys collaborating with him.
“Working with Stokely is definitely really amazing,” Sabbagh said. “He gives me great feedback on my performances and also loves sharing tips and tricks with actors.”
Sabagh and Berg’s long-term relationship has also allowed Sabbagh to observe Berg’s growth as an actor over the years.
“I was in Stokley’s first show, “Seussical,” with him, and I’ve been in five or six shows with him since. I think his progression as an actor was glaring for those who have been watching,” Sabbagh said.
With Stokley’s free time away from school and theatre, he volunteers at an organization helping special needs children.
“Its a program run by the city of Scottsdale available Monday through Friday, so I always go on Fridays because that’s the day I can get there on time,” Berg said.
Berg said he was grateful for the service opportunity on a weekly basis.
“I’ve made really great connections and it’s helped me grow a lot as a person,” he said.
Looking forward, Berg said he would like to pursue film in college.
“I really want to pursue film because when I’m older I want to be an actor in movies, and I feel like it would be smart to understand the filming process,” he said.
