Emily D. Skeggs (born July 10, 1990) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950s ...

in 2015 for playing the role of Medium Alison in ''

Fun Home ''Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic'' is a 2006 graphic memoir by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For''. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, United States, fo ...

''.Clarke, David
BWW "Interview: Emily Skeggs Talks 'Fun Home' 's Humor and Universal Relatability"
broadwayworld.com, March 27, 2015, accessed April 30, 2015

Early life and education

She was born in New York City, the daughter of Susan (née Casserly) and Gary Skeggs. Her father is a graphic designer, and her mother works in business. Skeggs graduated from

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public High school (North America), high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Ce ...

in 2008 and from

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

in 2012 with a degree in theatre and minor in writing. She wrote a play when she was six years old titled ''Star Girl'' which was performed at her school. At LaGuardia she played the role of Oolie/Donna in '' City of Angels'', in a cast that included

Azealia Banks Azealia Amanda Banks ( ; born May 31, 1991) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings at age 18. In 2 ...

. At Emerson, she played Lady Macbeth in ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'', Hero in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'', and Maid Marian in ''Robin Hood''.

Career

Skeggs played Muriel in ''Take Me Along'' at the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

Irish Rep in 2008, which was nominated for the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for Outstanding Revival. She performed in the musical ''Ripcords'' at the New York International Fringe Festival in August 2008. Skeggs played Rebecca in the

Huntington Theatre Company The Huntington Theatre Company is a professional theatre located in Boston, Massachusetts and the recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, under the direction of Managing Director Michael Maso. It is notable for its longstanding artist ...

(Boston, Massachusetts) production of ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 throug ...

'' in December 2012. She returned to the Irish Rep in 2014 in the musical ''Transport'', in which she played "Polly Cantwell". Also in 2014, she appeared in the Signature Theatre Company's production of ''And I and Silence'' as Young Dee. Skeggs was the understudy in the Off-Broadway production of ''Fun Home'' in 2013 for the roles of Joan and Medium Alison. She replaced

Alexandra Socha Alexandra Socha (born April 10, 1990) is an American actress who made her Broadway debut in the rock musical ''Spring Awakening (musical), Spring Awakening'' in May 2008. Other notable stage appearances include Nora in the brief 2009 revival of '' ...

(who departed the show early due to personal reasons) in the role of Medium Alison in November 2013, and reprised the role for the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production in 2015, making her Broadway debut. Skeggs was nominated for the

, and also received a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

for her performance.Viagas, Robert
"Broadway Siblings Megan and Robert Fairchild Among 71st Annual Theatre World Award Winners"
playbill.com, May 5, 2015 She played the role of a young Roma Guy in ''

When We Rise ''When We Rise'' is an eight-part American docudrama miniseries about the history of LGBT rights advocacy in the United States from the 1970s to the 2010s. It was created by Dustin Lance Black and stars Guy Pearce, Rachel Griffiths, Mary-Louise ...

'' in 2017.

Credits

Theatre

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skeggs, Emily 1990 births American stage actresses Living people Actresses from New York City 21st-century American actresses Emerson College alumni Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni American musical theatre actresses Theatre World Award winners