Stage, Film, TV Actors Come to Boston College for FROM THE HEIGHTS TO HOLLYWOOD

The Boston College Theatre Department will host actors and alumni Wayne Wilderson and Maile Flanagan, who will give a joint lecture--"From The Heights To Hollywood"-about their journey from Boston College to their thriving careers in television and film.

The lecture will take place on Thursday, November 2, 2017 at 7 p.m. in the Robsham Theater Arts Center on BC's Chestnut Hill campus. The event is open to the public, free of charge.

The multi-faceted veteran actors of stage, screen and TV, Wilderson and Flanagan-both longtime members of SAG-AFTRA and based in Los Angeles-have been close friends since their BC undergraduate days performing in the campus improv comedy group "My Mother's Fleabag."

"Maile and Wayne are the definition of successful working actors in this country," says Boston College Theatre Department Assistant Chair and Associate Professor of the Practice Luke Jorgensen. "Both of them have careers that bridge the worlds of stage, television, film, improv, print, movies, directing and writing."

Actor and comedian Wayne Wilderson graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in theater arts, then attended NYC's Circle in the Square Theatre School, the only accredited training conservatory associated with a Broadway theater.

Wilderson has made guest appearances on some of TV's biggest hits, including: The Office, How to Get Away with Murder, The Big Bang Theory, Mom, The Middle, Two and a Half Men, Private Practice, CSI, Frasier, Seinfeld, and more than 30 other programs.

He is perhaps best known for his recurring role in Season Five on Veep, for which he was nominated for a SAG award "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" (2012). Wilderson also has appeared in film including Evan Almighty, Independence Day, and Disney's Space Buddies, and is a frequent commercial actor.

Emmy winning actress and comedienne Maile Flanagan graduated in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in political science. Flanagan has more than 100 acting credits on IMBD. She has made guest appearances on some 40 television shows, including such major series as The Office, Modern Family, Weeds, Desperate Housewives, and ER. She has played recurring roles on shows including Grey's Anatomy, Reno 911!, Shameless, Bad Teacher, and The Class, and has an extensive history of voice-over work for animated films, television shows, and video games.

For voicing the recurring role of Young Piggley Winks on PBS Kids' "Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks," Flanagan earned three Emmy Award nominations for "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program," and won the award in 2006. She also has numerous Los Angeles theater credits.

"Few people know the ins and outs of the industry as these two, and both have been lauded by their fellow actors," Jorgensen says. "The Theatre Department is excited to hear of their experiences: both the successes and the obstacles they've had to overcome to get where they are today. As Wayne once remarked, 'I am not hungry for fame, I am hungry for work.'"

Their presentation will be followed by a Q&A led by Jorgensen.

Their appearance is part of the University's Matthew R. DeVoy and John H. DeVoy IV Perspectives on Theatre Series, a program made possible by a gift from the DeVoy family. This is the fourth annual lecture in the series, which brings leading professionals and major creative forces in the arts to Boston College. For more information, please contact the Theatre Department at theatre@bc.edu or ext. 2-4012.

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