Makayla Reid fancies herself as an actress. Right now, she is a SUNY Old Westbury sophomore looking to run a theater club in the university for the upcoming fall semester.

From a young age, Reid has always had a passion for acting since it allows her to express herself through her characters.

“I like the idea of playing somebody outside of yourself,” Reid said, “It truly brings me out of my shell.”

Due to her love of acting, Reid researched the school’s ties to theater and found that the Duane L. Jones Recital Hall located in the Campus Center was named after Duane L. Jones, a former English professor at SUNY Old Westbury and the previous director of the Maguire Theater. He was also the first Black man to break out into horror films in a major role with his character Ben in the famous horror film Night of the Living Dead.

“I feel like not a lot of people know about him and that’s sad,” Reid said, “I never knew him or met him but his work speaks to me deeply.”

Inspired by Jones’ legacy and work, Reid had looked into the school’s roster of clubs and organizations. She found that in 2020, the school had previously held a theater club that had later gone defunct due to little interest at the time.

Over time however, Reid said that she had noticed more students who expressed their interest in acting but had mentioned being too shy to do this. She said that creating a theater club would help students to overcome their insecurities and express their authentic selves.

“Our generation is too afraid to be cringe,” Reid said, “But that’s the whole point. As a shy person, I feel like it’s the one space that people get me.”

Additionally, Reid is also the vice president of the Old Westbury Rainbow club for LGBTQ+ students. She talked to fellow SUNY Old Westbury junior student and OW Rainbow treasurer Sam Hamilton about joining the theater club’s executive board and using OW Rainbow to advertise the theater club. Reid said that having a theater club would provide a safe space for all students, but especially for LGBTQ+ students and students of color.

Looking to revive the theater club for the upcoming fall semester, she spoke to the Center of Student Leadership and Involvement director Paul Ferrante, who greenlit the club. Gaining the approval of the CSLI, Reid and Hamilton created flyers to help grow the school’s theater community.

“When I graduate, I hope to see it growing and thriving because it makes me sad that not much has been said about it,” Reid said, “I hope in the next few years, people will find a second home and appreciate the arts, especially in this day and age. We need that now more than ever.”