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Helen Miller ’20 is making a splash on the screen. The musical theater graduate stars as the lead in a new film. “The Shelter,” which can be found on Amazon, is the story of every Appalachian hiker’s worse nightmare – a dangerous encounter with a blood hungry bear. The film follows the fight between hiker and beast. Only one of them leaves the trail alive.

“Being a part of this film was such a rewarding experience,” she said. “It was so incredible to dive into the craft and to be able to track the journey of this character as she is fighting for her life and going through this survival story.”

Thanks to her training at Ģ������Ƶ, Miller said, she has been more than prepared for her budding career as an actress.

“Something that is so incredible about the musical theater program at Western, and something that really drew me to it, is that you can make the most of the experience for yourself,” she said. “My professors encouraged me to pursue my curiosities and the elements of the major that spoke to me. That meant I could dive into camera work and have the freedom to build curriculum around what I enjoyed. I felt so supported by the faculty to take ownership of my career.”

In her time at WCU, she participated in numerous theater performances – from Shakespeare’s “King Lear” to the classic Disney story “Beauty and the Beast.”

“Stage is almost like extroverted acting,” Miller said. “It’s all-inclusive – it’s the body, the voice and the emotionality of it. There’s a physicality that goes along with stage acting because you’re trying to fill the theater with your presence.”

Through WCU’s School of Stage and Screen, she also learned the nuances of acting for the camera. 

“When you transfer from stage acting to screen acting, things become more intimate as you’re only filling a frame,” Miller said. “You’re acting for an audience of one, the camera. Instead of being big and larger than life, you keep it small and contained. So much of camera acting is in the eyes.”

During her tenure at WCU, Miller collaborated with other Catamounts and appeared in three student-produced films.

“It was my first time being on camera,” she said. “And I grew up a total cinephile, so I was excited to try my hand at that kind of acting. It felt like something clicked. I felt so locked in emotionally. I realized what was most natural to me was that style of acting – it’s in the eyes, in the thoughts I’m having, it’s in the expression on my face.”

After leaving WCU, Miller headed to Atlanta where she is auditioning and hoping for the next big role.

“Atlanta is the best place to be in the Southeast for screen acting. So, I just decided to commit and go for it,” she said.

The end goal in her career, she said, is to be able to tell stories she feels strongly about.

“Ideally, I’d like to play strong female characters,” she said. “That can come across any number of ways. Whether that’s through being sweet and kind or being fierce and kick-butt.”

When you see Miller on the screen, she might be acting under another name. Recently, she took the stage name Helen Stryder. Her agent thought Miller was a bit too generic. So, she brainstormed with her family on a new name.

“I wanted a name that still felt connected to my family because, at the end of the day, their love and support is what’s allowed me to pursue this career path. My dad and I really have bonded over “Lord of the Rings,” so Stryder is a nerdy nod to those films – there’s a character who has that as a nickname.”