INTRODUCING THE PRODUCTION "AVENUE Q"

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Avenue Q?

URI Theatre I By Sergio Suhett

Puppeteers and cast of Avenue Q
Photo by Ryan Osga 

Avenue Q is a ‘puppet show,’ formatted in a style similar to public television’s Sesame Street, so it’s obviously intended for children – right? Well, not exactly.

According to the show’s official website, avenueq.com, with themes including sex, drinking, and surfing the web for porn, “it’s hard to say what exact age is right to see AVENUE Q – parents should use their discretion based on the maturity level of their children,” adding as a promise: “if you DO bring your teenagers to AVENUE Q, they’ll think you’re really cool.” So if Avenue Q, is, despite the floppy, colorful muppets, not quite Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, it does present mature subject matter in a magical, fun, and nostalgically familiar manner.

When it was produced on Broadway in 2003, Avenue Q was a huge hit. It ran for 2,534 performances, making it the 23rd longest running show in Broadway history. Along the way, it took home three Tony Awards for Best Musical, Book of a Musical (Jeff Whitty), and Original Score (Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx).

Critics showered the show with praise, with Ben Brantley in The New York Times describing it as “how Friends might be if it had Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy arguing about their one-night stand, but with more angst, expletives and full-on puppet sex.”

The URI Theatre’s production of Avenue Q opens on November 13th and will play for eight performances through November 23rd. Directed by Paula McGlasson in the Robert E. Will Theatre, and populated by a cast infusing it with top-tier talent and boundless enthusiasm, URI’s staging of Avenue Q guarantees a memorable evening of modern American musical comedy and a good time for all. Tickets are $20 (general), $18 (seniors, and URI Faculty/Staff) and $15 (students), and are on sale now. Get yours while they last!

URI ALUMNI IN THE SPOT LIGHT

Meet Ben Rose

URI Theatre I By Brianna Penta

URI Alumni Ben Rose with his fourth grade class

“In theatre, nothing is guaranteed: roles, salary, positions, even relationships. The same applies for any position in any company or workplace setting. If you go for a position within a new or familiar company, there is no guarantee you will get it, or if you are even qualified for the position you want. URI Theatre taught me to never place yourself automatically in any position, and if you do not get placed in the role or position you want, all it means is that there are more experiences yet to be had, with more opportunities on the way.”

A confident and wise statement spoken from a warm-hearted soul. These are the words of Ben Rose, a URI alumni who graduated in 2010 with a Theatre major and concentration in acting. Ben was able to share some memories and provide advice for young theatre students.

Although Rose graduated with a theatre degree and a concentration in acting, his current career title truly illuminates his thoughts and beliefs on how theatre prepared him for the outside world, which is also highlighted in the first paragraph. One could never have predicted the possibility of a graduate with a theatre major becoming an elementary school teacher, but Rose defied all odds. After earning his Masters of Arts in Elementary Education, Rose became a fourth grade elementary school teacher at a public school in Phoenix, Arizona. One might say a little off the beaten path but Rose would call it, “Attempting a new endeavor.”

Nevertheless, Rose carries theatre and his theatre experiences with him wherever he goes. One of those places is inside his fourth grader’s classroom. He shares how he connects learning with theatre.
“In the classroom, I use theatrical concepts and tactics all the time. I have my acting and improvisational skills to help keep my children motivated and wanting to come to school. We sing, dance, and role play on a daily basis - and I usually get quite the theatrical class every year! I also incorporate reader's theatre into several lessons throughout the year, at the holidays especially. I also teach an after school theatre club for 4th and 5th grades.”

Showing a genuine love for teaching, Rose understands how to connect with children on a level they can be understood. Selling the scientific method and percents in an engaging and exciting manner is one way he attempts to connect with his students.

URI Alumni Ben Rose and his fourth grade class

“I need to sell the standards and material I teach, otherwise how can the students grow to love the standards and material too?”

When asked what advice Rose would give to current and future URI Theatre students, he used himself as an example to show how stepping out of your comfort zone should be looked upon as a positive move. “I got into music composition, Theatre 100 teaching, house management, and box office management for 3 years, which added to my experiences as an actor. This made me a well-rounded theatre student.” As you can see, Rose was and definitely still is a firm believer in fearlessness when it comes to “outside of the box” adventures and trying new things on the outskirts of your element.

Rose is proud of his memories of managing the box office for three years in a row along with assistant managing during his freshman year. Rose is also proud of a production that he participated in during his sophomore year called Not Enough Rope, by Elaine May.

“I learned that stillness and honest reactions can prove more powerful and comical than camp and cheese,” states Rose.

However, his favorite memory would have to be times when in between classes and rehearsals, he would sit in the FAC lobby and hang out with his fellow classmates. He was touched by the experiences that were shared among them.

“The laughing and crying together and in support of one another was magical, and I miss it dearly.”
Rose plans on obtaining his Masters of Education in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Grand Canyon University. We wish him the best of luck and hope that the world provides him with all the happiness and comfort he deserves.

INTRODUCING THE CAST OF "SEMINAR"

Meet Belmay Brophy-Baermann

URI Theatre I By Brianna Penta

Center-left: Belamy Brophy-Baermann as Douglas
Photo by Randy Osga

As we approach the ending run of the Theatre Department’s latest production Seminar, which opened October 9th, I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to snag Belamy Brophy-Baermann, a student at URI who plays one of the lead roles as Douglas. Excited and anxious about the play, Baermann was happy to talk about his preparation for Seminar and about his awesome experiences so far at URI with the Theatre Department.

Seminar, written by Theresa Rebeck, features four, young, aspiring novelists who are looking to improve their skills in the hopes of becoming professional writers. In pursuit of their dreams, they hire Leonard, a well-known and talented writer who assists them by critiquing their work. Not only do they receive his well credited advice, but they also get a glimpse of the reality of being a professional writer through his blunt personality and reckless direction. Taking place in one of Manhattan’s Upper West Side apartments, this sexy, comedic, and intriguing story will have you on the ground laughing leaving its viewers yearning for more.

As previously stated, Baermann plays the role of Douglas, one of the post-graduate students who hopes to turn his dreams of being a writer into a reality. Being an intellectual and sophisticated young man with a plethora of experience in the writing industry, Douglas truly feels as though he has a great shot at pursuing this career. “He's lived a pretty comfortable life, and is very confident in his writing ability. He's already spent time at very exclusive writers' communities. He really thinks he is on the verge of making it as a fictional writer,” says Baermann. 

Left: Belamy Brophy-Baermann as Douglas
Photo by Randy Osga

When aware of his success in obtaining the role as Douglas, Baermann explained his reaction. He was so excited because it was his first time being cast in a main stage show. “This is actually my first role here, so I’m really excited to bring Douglas to life!” In order to achieve this, Baermann planned on drawing from his own experiences. Understanding who Douglas was through deep thought and hard work definitely aided in his ability to build Douglas as a character. He was able to share his thoughts and strategy as an actor.

“It may not be me out there, but I certainly bring an aspect of myself to the character. I think that's what makes him a believable person.”

 Although this may be Baermann’s first role here at URI with the Theatre Department, he feels as though the success of the production is dependent upon the dynamic of the actors as an ensemble. “All the characters have to be really switched on to keep the play flowing well.” However, he does admire his fellow cast member playing the role of Leonard for performing an incredibly long and detailed monologue that he describes as quite challenging.

With the decision to switch his major to Theatre just last year, Baermann is really happy with his choice. Not only can he feel the development of his skills, but describing the theatre community as warm and welcoming was definitely an understatement. Baermann states with a sense of gratitude, “It's a really close community, and since I've become a major I've really felt at home with my classmates.”

URI ALUMNI IN THE SPOT LIGHT

A Look at Max Ponticelli 

URI Theatre I By Gail Henriques

URI Alumni, Max Ponticelli

I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing URI Theatre alum, Max Ponticelli, a graduate of 2009 with a BFA in Theatre, specializing in Design and Management. Mr. Ponticelli offered insight about his time and experiences at URI, and was able to offer some advice to current URI Theatre students.

Max told us how URI Theatre held him to the same standards during his education as professional theatre organizations would hold their own employees, which essentially gave him a unique advantage in the job market. He was taught early on that the more skills acquired, the better his visibility and marketability became. Max said, “The mentors on the faculty encouraged me to create, edit and hone my resume early on, and that networking is a key part of our field.” He went on to say, “When I had a job opportunity arise, I knew I could handle the interview because we held mock ones in class, but most of all the desire to work hard was ingrained in me by the examples my professors and peers made.”

Some of Max’s defining moments at URI were during his junior year as a Production Manager, Scenic Designer and Tech Director for the student directed production of True West. “I put a lot of weight on my shoulders for that production, but our team came together and made the production worthy of being a main-stage,” He said, “I remember the wonderful designer meetings with my director, Pat Bosworth; David T. Howard, our professor and mentor, getting our design class together to volunteer their time to help me paint the set walls (which I happened to be way behind schedule on); the trips across South County to a cabinet maker’s shop, who had generously donated reject kitchen cabinets for our set.” He added, “It is something I still look back on proudly.”

There were some defined opportunities that Mr. Ponticelli found to be beneficial during his 4 years at URI. He discovered that moving off campus was incredibly liberating and an educational experience, as it prepared him for the responsibilities of adulthood, as a person can’t learn budgeting in a class – one must do it. And serving on the Dean’s student advisory board gave him an interesting view of the University, which put him in touch with different people he would otherwise not have interacted with. He said, “being selected as a senior student to be the Scenic Designer of a main-stage production was an honor and an opportunity awarded to few.”

Max believes that a variety of different aspects of theatre at URI prepared him for the ever-changing demands of his current job (years as a carpenter and painter in the scene shop prepared him to help build sets; time spent in the costume shop learning to sew and stitch gave him the ability to fix a tear or sew a button during intermission; hanging lights, working sound, running shows, corralling during auditions – all experiences he needed to have in order to be effective at his work.

In-as-much as URI offers many opportunities to work outside of classes, and classes that are also necessary towards future jobs, Max Ponticelli would like to offer some advice to current students at URI,… “If you need to blow off some steam, take “Stage Combat!”, if you need to understand how a corporation works or run a company; take a business course, even if you’re the only Fine Arts major there. But, regardless of the course, pay attention, as every professor has a unique lesson for you to apply to your life!”

INTRODUCING THE CAST OF "SEMINAR"

Meet Christine O'Connell

URI Theatre | By Lauren Mazzola

Christine O'Connell

Photo by Randy Osga

It has been a very exciting and busy week for URI Senior Christine O’Connell, who is playing one of the lead roles in our production of Seminar, which opened Thursday Oct. 9. Despite O’Connell’s busy schedule she was able to spend some time talking about her experiences with the URI Theatre Department and her time on the set of our current production.

Seminar, written by Playwright and television writer Theresa Rebeck, is an edgy, sexy, and contemporary production that explores the world of art and commerce in present day New York City. The play encompasses four postgraduates who hire a well-known writing guru to fulfill their aspirations of becoming successful writers. Throughout the intermission-less act, the four aspiring writers receive much more than they bargained for as the writing guru and his powerful persona unexpectedly throws their well being into disarray.

O’Connell has taken on the role of Kate, the character who is always trying to prove herself and her abilities as a writer. Desperately wanting to become a fiction writer in a world where fiction is still very much a man’s world, Kate finds herself struggling with feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt and jealousy as she tries to overcome a set of unique obstacles that lie in the way of her success.

When describing her character, O’Connell explained, “even though Kate is self-confident, she struggles with her self-doubt and often responds by lashing out at others or trying to make light of her situation. She also struggles with being labeled a feminist and faces the same challenges as all female artists, but she meets them head on. I respect her a lot for that.”

The current production is the first time O’Connell played an artist and a professional writer, and she was able to express to us how happy and grateful she was to receive the role, “I was happy and certainly grateful. It's so hard in this business, there's so much uncertainty and it’s obviously nice to be given an opportunity to work. There’s also a great deal of responsibility that comes with that: namely don’t take it for granted for a second.”

Knowing she wanted to participate in theatre and other outside curriculums, O’Connell was easily able to choose to attend URI, “I chose URI because of its reputation for professionalism, which was really what I wanted in an undergraduate program. I also wanted the freedom to study other things. As demanding as our curriculum is, it’s not so rigid that it limits our other educational pursuits.”

When asked about how she felt about her educational experience with the URI Theatre Department, O’Connell used a quote by Isaac Newton to genuinely explain how she felt, "If I have seen further it is only because I have stood on the shoulders of giants."

“The opportunity to work alongside and learn from professional artists is invaluable. Our professors in the theatre department are entertainers. Our tenured professors, supplemented by the smartest, most creative guest artists and lecturers make it impossible to leave everyday uninspired.”

Proud of the education and training she has received throughout the four years at URI, O’Connell believes that she has been trained exceptionally well. Whether or not she becomes a professional actor or works within the theatre, she knows that she will graduate with the confidence to succeed at whatever her aspirations may be in the future.

URI ALUMNI IN THE SPOT LIGHT

Give It Up for Robin Grady

URI Theatre | By Diana Savino

URI Alumni, Robin Grady

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing another URI Theatre alumni, Robin Grady, who graduated in 2004 with a BFA in stage management. Currently, Grady is the Production Stage Manager for Les Miserables at Great Lakes Theatre in Cleveland, her third Les Mis in the last year. Grady will also be starting as Calling Stage Manager at Trinity Rep for A Christmas Carol, starting in November.

Robin told us that URI Theatre helped her prepare for the outside world because there was a lot of practical experience involved throughout her years here. “We also got a taste of all aspects of theatre (except sound!) from the core curriculum, so it lets you understand the bigger picture.” Because URI Theatre offers a variety of courses, students are allowed to get experience in all fields, giving them a different outlook on their field.

Robin’s most defining moments here at URI were The Laramie Project, and Into the Woods, where she was able to stage-manage both productions. “Laramie Project was the RI premiere of a play that was based on a (at the time) very current event, and was intellectually very interesting (which is still a criteria I use in picking shows when I can). Into the Woods gave me my first taste of stage managing a huge musical, which I didn't do again for some 5 years after I graduated, but now that's the kind of show I make my career doing (in addition to three different productions of Les Mis, my past year has also included another production of Into the Woods).

URI Theatre is able to continue to give students wonderful opportunities to work on productions, which gives them a lot of experience that is necessary for the outside world. “It was all the practical experience. In most jobs in the theatre, you can only learn so much from a book. To really learn it, you have to do it.” Grady believes that URI gave her many opportunities to learn different aspects of the job that she couldn’t learn just from a book. Robin also worked at local theatres while she was still attending school to broaden her horizons. “In college, I remember stage management being more focused on the technical, and that was a great background, but the training in acting and directing from the core classes is also really helpful because professionally, it is the stage manager's job to maintain the show over the course of the run just as the director left it. I've found my job is more about managing people than about lights and sound, etc.”

While URI offers plenty of opportunities to work on productions and work outside of classes, the theatre department also offers many classes that are also necessary towards future jobs. “I took theatre management twice because the two instructors had different backgrounds and brought something different to the class (one was more about large theatres and unions, and the other small "theatre-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" organizations...both of which have helped me in my career). I loved stage combat, and while not immediately relevant to stage management, it has helped me maintain safety of fights in my shows on several occasions. And costume history. I loved costume history (and just about everything David Howard taught).”

The faculty and staff here at URI Theatre are so dedicated and helpful to all students that many alumni still keep in contact with them today. When asked, Robin responded that her favorite memories of the theatre department included work-study in the scene shop with Julius, and in the main office working with Bonnie. The bonds that are formed throughout student’s college careers are very strong and important in helping students develop and grow.

INTRODUCING THE CAST OF "SEMINAR"

CHRIS MORRIS LADIES AND GENTLEMAN

URI Theatre I  By Brianna Penta

Christopher Morris as Leonard, and Laine Wagner as Izzy
Photo by Randy Osga

“Well it's both comical and dramatic. Usually the roles I have played have been one or the other. This is definitely the most realistic character I have played,” explained URI Senior, Chris Morris, about his character Leonard, in the hit production Seminar which opened Thursday, October 9th at 7:30pm. This comical, thrilling, and edgy production, which is set in Manhattan’s Upper West Side in an upscale apartment, explores the lives of four young novelists. In the hopes of pursuing prosperous writing careers, they hire a well-known, literary genius (Leonard). Under his reckless, surprisingly magnificent, and unorthodox direction, the post grad students get a taste of reality for that profession accompanied by the shredding of their egos. “This production is without a doubt, one for the books,” adds Morris.

Although Morris has been involved with theatre since the 6th grade, he was a late bloomer when joining the URI Theatre program. Coming to URI as a film major was the original plan. However, recognizing all the free time he had on his hands at the end of last semester, he decided to spontaneously audition for the student play Nasty Little Secrets. With the success of his casting opportunity he realized that the stage was his home. “It reignited my passion for theater and I decided to take up a double major,” Morris stated confidently.

Morris’s natural “show-biz” and acting talent is transparently portrayed through his brilliant ability to so easily “get back in the ring,” and it is reflected in his lead role as Leonard. Being new to the theatre department did not make the audition process any easier. “Excited seems like too weak a word. It was a very strenuous audition process. I auditioned against someone who was Leonard's age (50). So I figured I was beat out by the guy who would fit the role,” Morris says as he expresses his general struggles in obtaining the role. But his work ethic and love for the theatre landed him one of the lead characters. Morris’s satisfied audiences aren’t the only viewers who see his potential. He states, “Bryna (director) took a chance on me, and I haven’t let her down so far.” He makes it look too easy being a master at his craft.

Looking back at his acting career so far, Morris is most proud of his work in The Producers, a musical about an accountant and a producer who plan a scheme to create the worst Broadway show and raise more money than necessary in the hopes of retaining the surplus. To indulge entirely in his roles, he draws on his own life experiences to fully bring the character to life. Morris gladly explains, “I had a lot of freedom to take my character wherever I wanted, and I think I brought a lot to that show. Whenever I look back on it I always smile.”

A REPORT ON "SEMINAR"

THE CAST OF URI THEATRE’S SEMINAR HAS THE WRITE STUFF

URI Theatre | By Sergio Suhett

Front Page of Seminar’s Playbill

Rebeck’s Seminar is a play about a group of four aspiring young writers and the writing professor who hurls gasoline-soaked barbs at their dreams and just generally makes their lives miserable. Although, as Marilyn Stasio observed in her review of the 2011 Broadway production in Variety, “the young writers claim to be shocked by Leonard’s unethical behavior,” they nevertheless approach their ever-more-unpleasant interactions with the nasty professor “with more enthusiasm than any of them have shown about writing the great American novel.”

Seminar has provided, and continues to provide, the opportunity for five performers to really show their stuff. I attended the matinee performance of URI Theatre’s production of Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar on Sunday, October 12th, and I am very pleased to be able to report that the cast members more than adequately fill the shoes of their Broadway predecessors (including the likes of Alan Rickman, Lily Rabe, and Jerry O’Connell). One hopes director Bryna Wortman didn’t have to descend to the levels of abject humiliation and name-calling exhibited by Leonard (dismissing one writer’s work as “whorish” is, for example, intended as constructive criticism) in order to inspire her cast to the caliber of bravura seen on the URI Theatre’s stage, but whatever her method, she is to be congratulated. Applause as well, and of course, for the actors themselves: Christine O’Connell (as Kate), Belamy Brophy-Baermann (as Douglas), Laine Wagner (as Izzy), Christopher Morris (as Leonard), and Stephen Peterson (as Martin). 

Seminar cast: Christine O’Connell as Kate, Christopher X Morris as Leonard,
Stephen Peterson as Martin, Belamy Brophy-Baermann as Douglas,
and Laine Wagner as Izzy.

Seminar Set Design by Cheryl deWadener (URI Theatre Alum)

If you’re looking for a masterfully crafted evening of modern comic drama, I heartily recommend that you head over to the URI Theatre box office and buy tickets for Seminar while they are still available. Seminar which opened on October 9th, will play through October 19th.

Watch actor Stephen Peterson talking about Seminar.

CONNECT WITH URI THEATRE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

URI ALUMNI IN THE SPOT LIGHT

Meet Seth Finkle

URI Theatre | By Lauren Mazzola

URI Alumni, Seth Finkle

This week, I had the great pleasure of interviewing alumni Seth Finkle, who graduated from URI in 2006 with a Theatre major, Business minor, and concentrations in acting and stage management. Finkle was happy to talk about his time and experiences at URI, his current profession, and was also able to give great advice to current URI Theatre students.

“My passion was ignited by the URI Theatre,” Finkle explained, “Had I not been an acting and stage management major at URI I don’t think I would be doing what I am doing today.”

I could feel the zeal and excitement Finkle held for the theatre department and all of the staff as he expressed his gratitude for the experiences he was able to gain from URI and it’s professors. “I loved my time with the theatre department, every professor was wonderful and was able to create a warm and loving environment for people who wanted to learn about being involved in theatre.”

“People are lucky to have the professors that are at URI teaching them, because they want you to succeed and explore your passions,” said Finkle, “You don’t realize how lucky you are to be taught by who you are taught by until after, which is an amazing and rare thing to come by – its real world experience and it does help you.”

Taking advantage of everything the theatre department offered was how Finkle was able to learn, grown, and apply his knowledge to his current profession. He was able to take advantage of the department’s “earn as you learn” opportunity, and gained an internship at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York. “Not only did I get vital experience working on the sets of our productions, but I was also able to get real world experience from an internship I obtained through the theatre department.”

Finkle was happy to give advice to students involved with or interested in theatre. “Incoming students and current students should take advantage of everything in the program because you get out what you put into it. Just work hard at everything, listen, and value the time you have at URI. I think that if you can do that you’ll realize what you learned means something in the real world.”

Finkle teaching in Uganda, Africa

After receiving his bachelor’s degree from URI and a master’s degree in educational theatre from NYU, Finkle spent time in Uganda, Africa teaching, and is currently the experience coordinator for The Providence Children’s Museum, the equity stage manager and education director at the Wilbury Theatre in Providence, and is a teaching assistant for URI Theatre 100 courses.

MEET THE AUTHOR OF "SEMINAR"

Beneath the Surface of Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar, a Glimpse of the Author’s Own Real Life Inspiration

URI Theatre | By Sergio Suhett

Theresa Rebeck on Seminar’s Broadway opening night

In This Photo: Theresa Rebeck

Playwright Theresa Rebeck attends the Broadway opening

night of  "Seminar" at The Golden Theatre on 

November 20, 2011 in New York City.

- Source: Robin Marchant/Getty Images North America

One of the aspects of Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar that audiences have found most affecting is the character of Leonard, the vicious, take-no-prisoners writing professor whose withering appraisals of his young students’ work (“I don’t have to go past the first five words because I already know enough and I don’t give a shit”) provide them with no end of discouragement – and theatergoers with no end of delight. It is this love-to-hate-him quality that, in part, makes Seminar work, because if Leonard weren't so funny, he’d be unbearable!

You may, while watching the URI Theatre’s Rhode Island premiere production of Seminar, which opens this Thursday at 7:30, find yourself tempted to imagine that Rebeck must have been inspired by someone in her personal life to construct such a colorful character as Leonard. If you are, allow me to be the first to inform you that – spoiler alert! – she was indeed.

A few days before Seminar opened on Broadway in 2011, Michael Schulman wrote an article in The New Yorker entitled “The Writing Seminar from Hell, Inspired by David Milch,” in which he pulled back the curtain to reveal Rebeck’s behind-the-scenes, true-life Leonard. David Milch is a TV writer and producer whose credits include Deadwood and NYPD Blue, and it was Theresa Rebeck’s three years’ experience on the writing staff of the latter series that provided her with some of the creative spark which led eventually to Leonard, and to Seminar.

Rebeck is quoted as observing of Milch: “He made me cry three times. I’m not a cryer. It took me so long to get his hand out of my brain that I think I erased most of it. It took me two years,” adding that there is “a restlessness and drive that you learn from that guy…It was the hard-knock school of learning. But there was a lot of charm in it.” That tells you a lot of what you need to know about Leonard, and the article will tell you a bit more of what you may enjoy knowing as a supplement to your appreciation of URI Theatre’s staging of Seminar.

INTRODUCING THE CAST OF "SEMINAR"

MEET LAINE WAGNER

URI Theatre | By Diana Savino

Laine Wagner
Photo by Randy Osga

We interviewed Laine Wagner who is a senior here at URI and will be playing one of the lead roles in our upcoming production Seminar, to open on October 9th. Seminar is a play written by Theresa Rebeck and takes place in New York City. The play follows 4 young writers who are struggling to make livings. In order to help boost their careers, they decide to hire a professional writer to critique their work. The four of them meet with the professor once a week for 10 weeks, and it costs them $5,000 per student to do so.

Wagner will be playing Izzy, a flirtatious student who is very outgoing. Laine explains that this role is different from her previous roles because “although the character is wild and sexual and fantastic - the language and the style of the play require her to be a real person as well. So as an actor you really have to build the character from the ground up.” Being an actor requires a lot of strength and courage, which Wagner explains when she discussed her topless scene, which “takes a lot of fearlessness that no other character in the play offers. Izzy is daring. That’s always scary.”

Laine came into the department as a freshman in 2011 “doe-eyed and ready to work” and has kept that intensity throughout her career. She explains the importance of the different roles she has faced by saying “You just have to pull from your life experiences and bring the text to life,” something that Laine has done for 4 years now. The life experiences she has gone through both on and off stage have helped her become the actress she is today.

Wagner’s most treasured experiences at URI include the people. “The friends I have made I will have for life and the faculty is so loving… well love is sometimes tough. But they genuinely care about their students.”

DONOR APPRECIATION BRUNCH

SINGING FOR THE MUSICAL THEATER

URI Theatre | By Lauren Mazzola

From Left: Katherine Riley, Diego Guevara,
Christine Dickinson, and Reilly Rey

URI Theatre students, Christine Dickinson, Katherine Riley, Diego Guevara, and Reilly Hayes gave a spectacular performance under the musical direction of Lila Kane, which brought the Ryan Center to life at the 2014 Donor Appreciation Brunch on Saturday, September 20. 

These four talented students caught the eye of Theatre Department Head, Paula McGlasson last spring, after preforming two duets for their final presentations in Kane's "Singing for the Musical Theatre" course. McGlasson was so pleased with their performances, she arranged for the students to preform at the brunch.

Katherine Riley and Diego Guevara

Performing The Pajama Game's

"There Once Was a Man"

URI ALUMNI IN THE SPOT LIGHT

Meet Rolt Smith

URI Theatre | By Diana Savino

Rolt Smith

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of interviewing URI alumni Rolt Smith, who graduated URI in 1989 with a Theatre major and concentration in theater/stage management. During the interview, Smith gives current students great advice and reflects on his time here at URI.

When you are a theatre major here at URI, you take classes in different areas, which allow students to get a taste of everything. Students to get their feet wet in different aspects of theatre. According to Rolt, students should take advantage of the opportunities offered here at URI because “Every work experience is also a learning experience. Even a bad show will provide you with opportunities to learn. Never pass up an opportunity to add another credit to your resume.” The theatre department allows this to be possible for every student, and strongly encourages students to take advantage of these possibilities.

“They always inspire us to reach higher, to be prepared for any job that might come our way” Rolt said about the faculty and staff here at URI Theatre. Because there are only 80-100 theatre majors, the teachers and staff are better able to get to know students on a personal level and help them become the best that they can be. Teachers from the theatre department are known for being dedicated to each student and production. They form a bond with each student that they will continue for the rest of their lives.

Rolt is currently living and working on Broadway in New York City where he has had many opportunities to use the skills he learned here at URI. “ Being given the responsibility to stage manage a large book musical for the first time was a life changer. Aside from all I learned, I gained confidence and I fine-tuned skills which I still use today”. Smith has been the production stage manager for a number of Broadway plays including Catch Me If You Can, Face the Music, Stairway to Paradise, and many more.

"SEMINAR" REHEARSAL

Theatrical Magic in the Making

URI Theatre | By Sergio Suhett     Oct. 1, 2014

Director Bryna Wortman (left)
and Stage Manage Lauren Thiele (right), "putting it together."

Preparation, in art as in life, is everything. That’s the thought which kept running through my brain last Thursday, September 25, when I attended the first run-through of the latest production at URI Theatre, Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar.

I really don’t think most people have any idea how much groundwork goes into a show beforehand unless they’ve actually enjoyed the opportunity to be present for rehearsals. Because this was a run-through, of course, the actors seemed to know all of their lines and their blocking (suggesting an enormous amount of work that had already occurred in the days before I came on the scene!).

Understudies: Raymond Fournier (Leonard), Nick Killing (Martin),

Steve Cavalho (Douglas), Rachel Marshal (Kate), Celine Montaudy (Izzy).

Some other aspects of the show were still unfinished – as, for example, the sets, which director Bryna Wortman assured me were far from finished and will, by opening night, be much more elaborate. I also noticed with interest how the understudies, while sitting in the house, were quietly running through their lines at the same time as the actors on the stage. While it makes perfect sense, it had never occurred to me that understudies might rehearse in this fashion.

"Seminar" rehearsal - from left to right: Stephen Peterson (as Martin), 
Laine Wagner (as Izzy), Christine O'Connell (as Kate),
Belamy Brophy-Baermann (as Douglas), and Chris Morris (as Leonard).

One particular aspect of the show that I really enjoyed – and I am sure you will too – is the sharp and witty dialogue written by Theresa Rebeck. Our actors – all of whom are quite apparently inspired by it- rise to the occasion, creatively speaking. Chris Morris plays Leonard, the famous writer/professor who gleefully reduces his students to nervous wrecks as he tears their artistic endeavors to shreds. The students are played by Stephen Peterson (Martin), Laine Wagner (Izzy), Belamy Brophy-Baermann (Douglas), and Christine O’Connell (Kate).

Stage Manager, Lauren Thiele (front left seat),

 checking her notes for blocking accuracy.

Stage Manager  Lauren Thiele

 helping actors with next scene change.

Stephen Peterson (Martin) 

and Christine O'Connell (Kate)

Tickets for Seminar are on sale NOW, so be sure to head over to the URI Theatre box office in the Fine Arts Center to get yours for what is sure to be a memorable evening of theater – the Rhode Island premiere of Seminar, opening on October the 9th.

For more information and to buy tickets go to our URI Theatre Website.