Now working as a Senior Talent & Events Manager for The Walt Disney Company, Morgan Epperson has been a part of the entertainment industry for over a decade. Currently based in London, Epperson has worked in Chicago, Los Angeles, and London in PR, talent management, and events management. Originally from Libertyville, Morgan began attending Actors Training Center classes at 15, continuing to train through her high school graduation at the age of 18. After completing the Professional Summer Intensive and considering a path revolving around an acting career, Morgan chose to take her talents in a different direction, applying all of her industry-standard training to new fields.
As a young artist, Epperson landed her first and second internships at Nickelodeon, eventually accepting a job with the company. From there, Morgan branched out into PR, working with A-list celebrities every day. The experience was surreal – from a self-proclaimed Gleek and fangirl of The Hunger Games, to a coworker of Lea Michele and Donald Sutherland, Epperson felt herself living her dream. She says,
“It was next level.”
Epperson credits her training at Actors Training Center and with ATC Founder Carole Dibo for her understanding of industry expectations before ever working on a set, noting,
“My parents are so happy they sent me to ATC – they still think it’s the #1 thing that they’re happy I did growing up, they knew I was serious about it because of [Carole’s] training.”
Epperson recalls being drawn to ATC after seeing the success of ATC alumni, saying,
“I begged my parents – begged them – to send me to Actors Training Center because I knew Phillipa [Soo] had gone through it… and I was being very competitive and I said: I must go there.”
As Epperson worked her way through the industry, extending her reach into talent and event management and stacking achievement upon achievement, she continued to work with young talent, allowing her to remain in touch with her roots as a young actor. Remembering ATC’s impact and Carole’s personal approach to training, Epperson says,
“You know it’s what your calling is and that’s the reason why people continue to send their kids to you, because they know you’re a trusted source and they know that they are going to get what they are hoping to get out of it for them and for their children.”
Epperson achieved many milestones in her time at ATC, even getting her driver’s license just before starting the Professional Summer Intensive. As she discovered herself and her path, going as far as preparing monologues for acting program auditions before choosing to pursue other avenues of the industry, Epperson recalls the ATC community holding her up, reminiscing,
“It was just such a family, I remember feeling so much joy.”
From her roots as a young girl in Illinois, Morgan Epperson’s talent has now branched across continents. She prides herself on the meaningful relationships she has fostered in the industry, continuing to build a connective web growing stronger each day. Reflecting on her long journey to where she is today, thinking about her 15-year-old self in an Actors Training Center class, she says,
“I would tell myself: You just have to continue to believe in yourself, it may not be the track that you thought you were going to be on, but if you keep working on it, it will come full circle. And it absolutely has.”
Morgan Epperson and Carole Dibo, Professional Summer Intensive 2012
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