For 10 years, Emma Taylor has invested in Samford University’s theatre for youth program, but her connection to the work extends far beyond financial support. She has traveled alongside students, celebrated their successes, watched children experience live theatre for the first time and witnessed firsthand the difference a performance can make in a young person’s life. Her story is one of engagement, service and a steadfast belief in the power of the arts.
One of Taylor’s most treasured memories came thousands of miles from Birmingham.
“The opportunity to travel to Indonesia with Laura Byland, my daughter Mary Gurney, Dr. Jeanna Westmoreland, and several theatre for youth and education students was definitely a high point,” she said. “Watching the Samford students interact with the Indonesian school children was absolutely awesome.”
She recalls another meaningful experience closer to home: helping theatre for youth students present a Christmas play at Unless U, a local non-profit organization committed to fostering the growth of adults with disabilities academically, spiritually, physically, socially and vocationally. The event remains, in her words, “an unforgettable and rewarding experience.”
GET TICKETS: Samford Theatre for Youth's production of The Wind in the Willows opens Oct. 2.
Those moments reflect what has long drawn Taylor to the program: the opportunity to see theatre making a tangible difference in people’s lives.
Her love of theatre began long before she ever encountered Samford. Growing up in upstate New York, Taylor and her cousins would lock themselves in a bathroom at their grandfather’s house every Christmas and create original holiday shows for their family.
She later participated in school plays and vividly remembers a senior-year trip to New York City to see Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews perform in My Fair Lady. Theatre became a lifelong passion that continues to inspire her.
“Live theatre allows me to forget what’s going on in my life,” Taylor said. “As soon as the play begins, I step into another person’s world, identify with the characters, and feel what they feel.”
Her appreciation for the arts was strengthened when her daughter, Mary Gurney, joined Samford’s theatre program as a professor and costume designer. Through visits to the costume shop and behind-the-scenes experiences, Taylor gained a deeper understanding of the countless hours students and faculty invest in every production.
“Students are always there, cutting, sewing, painting, steaming, racking, hanging, ironing, altering and whatever else needs to be done to prepare for a play,” she said. “The number of hours the students and faculty commit to making theatre happen is phenomenal.”
Her admiration extends to every aspect of the process, from technical rehearsals and set construction to lighting design and performance preparation. Seeing that commitment firsthand reinforced her desire to support the program.
As a former educator, Taylor understands the unique role the arts play in a student’s development. She recalls guiding her own class through a Thanksgiving play and watching students discover creativity, teamwork and confidence along the way.
“Never had I seen my students as proud as they were the night they performed for the PTA,” she said. “This one experience did wonders for their confidence.”
She sees those same qualities reflected in theatre for youth students.
“I learned that theatre for youth students are a creative, flexible, committed, highly motivated, extremely talented, fun-loving group of individuals,” Taylor said after accompanying them on outreach experiences like school tours and First Night, where children and families are introduced to live theatre, sometimes for the very first time.
“Every time I attend a performance at a local school during the spring tour, I am overwhelmed by the excitement of the students,” she said. “Every time I attend First Night, I witness children who have never attended a play before, and I thank God that I am in a position to offer these children the experience of live theatre.”
As she watches young audience members laugh, clap and fully immerse themselves in the performance, Taylor often wonders what lasting impact the experience might have.
“I often wonder if a child in the audience will end up in theatre because of a spark that was ignited at a theatre for youth production,” she said.
Taylor is motivated by opportunities to see lives changed in meaningful ways. Theatre for youth offers a unique window into that transformation.
“Supporting theatre for youth feels much different,” she said. “My support gives me a ring-side seat to the entire theatrical process without having to do anything, except enjoy.”
Another important part of her connection to the program has been her longtime relationship with professor Laura Byland, whose dedication to students and theatre outreach has left a lasting impression.
“Her interaction with the theatre for youth students, her focus and dedication to providing theatre for young people and her mission of theatre outreach to the local schools have always impressed me,” Taylor said.
As theatre for youth celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Emma Taylor Theatre for Youth Series, the milestone is about much more than financial support. It is a celebration of a donor who has consistently shown up: in classrooms, theatres, community spaces and even on the other side of the world. Through her generosity, advocacy and presence, Taylor has helped create opportunities for Samford students to serve, perform and inspire the next generation.
That is the legacy she values most. Not simply supporting theatre but helping ensure that more young people have the chance to experience its transformative power for themselves.
GIVE NOW: Join Emma Taylor in supporting the theatre for youth prograrm.
