WMU grad has role in box office hit
Jan. 22, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- A graduate of WMU's Department of Theatre is being propelled into the motion picture spotlight via Paramount's new hit film "Save the Last Dance" starring Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas.
Elisabeth Oas, a native of Milford, Mich., is featured in the comic role of Diggy, one of the white students attending a mostly black urban high school, where Stiles' ballet-dancing character finds out about hip hop. The film is tops at the box office.
Oas, 25, graduated in 1998 and starred in numerous productions while at WMU. Those include "Danny & the Deep Blue Sea," "Steel Magnolias," "Equus," "Dracula" and "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Oas (pronounced like "oats" without the t) now lives in Chicago and works for Chicago Pet Care, house- and pet-sitting between her acting jobs.
Her other film credits include "Unconditional Love" from New Line Cinema and "Smile" by Lumaflick Productions. In all, she has worked in six films -- three independent release and three studio projects.
"This is the biggest role I've had in a studio film," Oas told the Kalamazoo Gazette recently.
Oas also is appearing in the upcoming film "Design," as a bride dealing with a voyeuristic wedding photographer. Directed by Davidson Cole, the film will be shown at Sundance and other film festivals this year.
Media contact: Mark Schwerin, 616 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu