Emily Capehart

Emily Capehart was born June 24, 1995 in Wheeling, West Virginia. Emily started her career in local theater. At age 7, Emily first performed in "Symphony on Ice" a local ice skating show that included several Olympic medalists. Her stage debut occurred at age 8 when she performed in the chorus of a local theater production of "Oliver!". She continued to play small parts in local Towngate Theater productions when at age 10 she was cast in the lead role of "Fern" in "Charlotte's Web." After living overseas, Emily returned to the theater where she was cast in supporting roles in such local productions as "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "Honk!", "A Christmas Carol," and "Romeo and Juliet." Her next significant role in local theater came in 2008 when Emily was cast in the lead role of "Tillie" in the 1960s classic "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds." Later in 2008, she played the role of "JoJo" in a college production of "Suessical!". In September 2008, Emily was invited to join a select improvisational group in Columbus, Ohio. The group was under the direction of J.W. Myers. As a part of her training, Emily worked in a number of short films. This worked ignited Emily's interest in film. In 2009, Emily spent the summer in the Los Angeles area, training with acting coach William "Billy" Cowart at WCI Studios. During this time, she auditioned for a number of "girl-next-door"roles. Although she was cast in a number of student and short films, she returned to Wheeling in the fall of 2009, but continued to commute to Southern California for auditions while also returning to local theater. In the fall 2010, her improvisational coach, J.W. Myers, called and asked her to audition for "The Pledge," a feature film that was to be produced in West Virginia. Later, she was cast in the lead role of "Jill." Myers later cast Emily in the role of Natalie George in the Christmas classic, "A Christmas Tree Miracle." In 2014, Emily matriculated to Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA where she began as a theater major. During her freshman year, she moved to film studies and, more specifically, directing in order to expand her creativity in storytelling to beyond one character. In November 2017, she directed her first film, a short entitled "The Stranger in the Crowd." This lead to her acceptance into Dodge College of Film and Media Arts' MFA Directing program where she went on to write and direct many more shorts. Emily came out as a lesbian in September of 2018. This inspired her commitment to representational content, and has significantly influenced her writing and filmmaking style. She is now happily married to her wife, Hannah Capehart.