R.U.R.

Playing a robot

R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) was my last production of undergrad at James Madison University. This production was extremely special with the rise of AI as this play by Karel Capek coined the term ‘robots.’ Our production was adapted by two of our professors, Dennis Beck and Zachary Dorsey, in order to erase some of the misogynistic ideas and emphasize the risks of automation.

I played Jana, a robot who was part of the revolution. She was a role written into the adaptation which made for some interesting discoveries. Our director, Dennis Beck, had specific rehearsals to work with the robots: How do we move? How do we accomplish simple tasks like opening a door? Do we believe in God(s)? etc. These rehearsals were broken down even more as the robots were all part of different generations who become more human-like the newer they are. Because Jana was a newer generation, my movements for Jana were not as jerky as the first couple of generations. This meant I had to find other ways to show that I was not quite human.

On top of playing Jana, I understudied the other robots. This meant I had to learn not only the lines and blocking, but also the specific movements and thoughts for each generation. Though this was challenging, it was an opportunity I will likely never get again.

Rossum's Universal Robots (R.U.R.)
By Karel Čapek
Translated into English by David Wyllie
Adapted by Dennis C. Beck and Zachary A. Dorsey
Directed by Dennis Beck
Scenic Design by Richard Finkelstein Costume Design by Hannah Jonkers Lighting Design by Mitch Glaes Sound Design by Anna-Lee Craig Properties Design by Abby Kelley and Sophia Tiedt Dramaturg: Zachary A. Dorsey Stage Manager: Juleanna Green Photo by: Richard Finkelstein

Cast
Friedrich Domin: Gavin Kiley
Sulla: Lillian Hall
Marius & U/S Radius: Will Chapman
Helena Glory: Campbell Ella
Fabry: Hannah Easton
Dr. Gall: Abel Haddish
Dr. Hallemeier: Riley Harper
Alquist: Ainsley Steger
Busman: Declan Wood
Nana: Katherine Porter
Radius: Malik Jallow
Talon & U/S Domin: Matt McPherson
Minsky & U/S Helena Glory: Julia Zanardi
Ava & U/S Alquist: Hannah Nicholson
Jana & U/S Robots: Camden Gillespie
Helenova: Jo Shelton
Primus: Evan Campbell
Daemon: Emily Whelen

Crew
Production Manager: Brian Smallwood Technical Director: TJ Hartless Scene Shop Supervisor: Alex Sasse Costume Shop Manager: Kathleen Conery Lighting Shop Supervisor: Catherine Holcomb Properties Shop Supervisor: Sam Bay Assistant Director: Becca Stehle Technical Director Advisor: Lindsey Kelley Costume Designer Advisor: Elizabeth Wislar Lighting Design Advisor: Emily Becher-McKeever Assistant Stage Managers: Caitlin Foster, Jess Hess, Meg Hogan Assistant Sound Designer: Aamirah MacDonald Assistant Dramaturg: Sydney Miller Head Electrician: Alex Tuszynski Costume Shop Foreman: Jenny McNee Costume Shop Overhire: Ryan Woolsey

P.S.A.

P.S.A. was a devised performance created by my Alternative Performance class taught by Dr. Dennis Beck. Through this course we learned about the creativity behind devising and in April of that semester we had to create a 60-90 minute piece to perform to the public. 

Of all the classes I took in college, I learned the most in this one and I found a love for devised theatre. Discovering the importance of collaboration in this course allowed me to put trust in my peers and take on roles I knew I’d be best at. Beck oversaw our research throughout the course, but we were left to hold rehearsals on our own so we would have to guide ourselves. We changed our ideas a lot. We ended up scrapping probably 95% of what we created. There were a total of fifteen of us. We rarely ever agreed on something.

A lot of the class was interested in mythology and feminine rage. We narrowed that topic down to Pandora’s Box. We researched how rage affects the body and the different versions of Pandora’s box. We found rage to be a response to injustices we were affected by in our everyday lives. We took a survey with questions we had created and found a lot of us felt rage in our stomachs. This gave us the title of our piece: P.S.A. (Pandora’s Stomach Ache). 

We all agreed to make the piece immersive. This gave us the opportunity to use multiple rooms. Our main space was the Studio theatre (a black box). We then decided to utilize dressing rooms, hallways, the green room, and rehearsal spaces. When the performance started, Pandora discovered the box and was curious about the noise and chaos the ensemble was making. Eventually, she opened the box, releasing a swarm of evils into the other spaces. Only one character (played by three people) was left in the box. Her name was Hope. 

I portrayed the evil, Vanity. I played a Barbie doll inspired by Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece. I allowed the audience to do whatever they wanted with me. Dress me, strip me, put on makeup, take off makeup, dress me in jewelry, do my hair, etc. This took place in one of the dressing rooms which we called The Doll’s House. The other dressing room was a foil of mine and Jealousy’s. It was dark and rather than focusing on outer beauty, it focused on our secrets and hatred of our bodies. 

Audiences were given a map and could roam through the rooms as they pleased, meaning not everyone went to every room. This was the beauty of our piece. Audiences could watch whatever they wanted. 

On top of devising, I also worked as our publicist. I created the map, the poster, filmed everything, and ran our social media. We ended up having a huge turnout. @jmualternative

The House on Linardi Street

September of 2022, I was cast in the world premiere of The House on Linardi Street at James Madison University written by Juleanna Green and directed by Becca Stehle.

This play follows five siblings coming together for a weekend at their parents’ old home in New Jersey. Chaos arises when the oldest daughter, Cherry, tells the other siblings she wants to buy them all out for the house. Each sibling is forced to face their internal struggles with the family home they grew up in.

I had the privilege of originating the role of Liz, the youngest daughter who tries to be the peacekeeper of the family. I found a lot of myself in Liz which made this role feel very natural to me. In the beginning of the play, Liz comes out with a journal she had found while cleaning out her mom’s closet. While I haven’t experienced losing a parent, my mom and I are extremely close so the idea of finding words written by a loved one after they passed was something that was extremely touching to many of us involved in the process.

Originating a role is something that terrified, yet excited me. The thing I found most special about this experience was that I couldn’t find myself comparing my performance to anyone else. Years ago, I was guilty of not always making a role my own. I’d often find myself doing things I had seen other actors in that role do. If it worked for Kristin Chenoweth in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, it’ll work for me, right? No. Part of being an actor means you have to express your own creativity. Playing Liz allowed me to fully embrace my take on the character I was bringing to life.

Photography by Sophie DiFrancesco and Richard Finkelstein

Director: Becca Stehle - Playwright: Juleanna Green - Stage Manager: Makayla Parker - Assistant Stage Manager: Cameron Parker - Scenic Design: Myer Kim - Associate Scenic Design: Charlotte Bronaugh - Lighting Design: Tj Hartless - Assistant Lighting Design/ Head Electrician: Alex Tuszynski - Sound Design: Anna Christensen - Associate Sound Design: Audrey Sparrow - Costume Design: Claudia Obenschain - Co-Props Managers: Kenzie Gilson & Stephi Shraga - Sound/Props Mentor: Alison Spangenberg - Dramaturg: Jamie Guest - Publicity: Sophie DiFrancesco - Lighting Board Op: Maddie Miller - Sound Board Op: Sydney Miller - Run Crew: Kara Handy

Cast: Gavin Kiley, Nick Moxley, Emily Whelen, Camden Gillespie, Mitch Glaes, Campbell Ella, Olivia Florian, Emily Nuckols, Julia Zanardi, Luke Freisner, Evan Campbell, Caroline Gravely, Max Layman

Lightning Girl!

Lightning Girl! is a play written by Rita Anderson that was selected for Madison New Works Laboratory in 2022. MNWL selects two plays annually to help develop new work at the Forbes Center for Performing Arts at James Madison University. Auditions for these plays happen at the end of spring semesters and actors arrive back to campus before fall semester to begin rehearsals. 2022 was the first year since 2019 Madison New Works Lab was able to operate do to COVID, so this was the only year I was able to audition. We had a total of ten days to work on these new pieces and playwrights were able to make script changes throughout the process.

Lightning Girl! follows the story of Juliane Koepcke, the sole survivor of the LANSA 508 plane crash. In this staged reading, I played one of the shapeshifters. Though this was a staged reading, we still utilized movement as it was written in the script that the shapeshifters are inspired by Butoh. Dance professor, Julia Vessey, visited a rehearsal to help choreograph specific parts of the play. Throughout this piece, I played Juliane’s grandmother, forest creatures, illusions, and other things Juliane encountered throughout her life.

Playwright: Rita Anderson Director: Garret Milton Assistant Director: Becca Stehle Stage Manager: Juleanna Green

Cast: Olivia Palmer, Makayla Parker, Camden Gillespie, Gavin Kiley, Aamir Alloo

Matilda

Summer of 2022, I got to perform in one of my favorite musicals, Matilda, as Miss Honey at Hope Theatre in Vint Hill, Virginia. This production was by far one of the most rewarding processes as I was able to connect with young performers, something I don’t always get the privilege of doing.

Hope Theatre does a summer production every year that they put on in one week. Rehearsals start on a Monday and the show goes up on Friday. Actors are expected to arrive off book and to be flexible. I had only two weeks to memorize all of Miss Honey’s lines and songs. It was extremely rewarding to come to the first rehearsal and be able to jump right into learning blocking and learning harmonies.

What the Constitution Means to Me

In my Solo Performance Class, our final consisted of writing a paper on a solo performance that we could watch online. I chose to write about Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me. I will be the first to admit, I grew up in a conservative county and I was not the most educated, specifically when it came to abortions. Watching this play was an extremely eye opening experience for me and it changed my perspective quite a bit.

Two months after finishing that class, my professor, Jessica Del Vecchio reached out to me asking if I would help out with a staged reading of What the Constitution Means to Me. Dr. Heather Denyer, a professor at California State University, had reached out to Dr. Del Vecchio, along with a few other professors around the country to organize these readings.

This performance was incredibly important as a few months later the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade. A couple weeks before performing I was able to join a Zoom call with Heidi Schreck and ask her some questions.

The performance was lovely and our dramaturg, Jordan Hundley, held a talkback afterwards. Just like the Broadway performance, we made audiences vote on whether or not the Constitution should be abolished. Most of our audience said that it should not be; however, many agreed it should be revised.

Voice of the Voiceless

Fall semester of my junior year of college I took a class called Solo Performance taught by Jessica Del Vecchio and Ingrid De Sanctis. Throughout the semester students worked on creating a solo piece to perform in the Forbes Center for Performing Art’s Studio Theatre. This meant we played the roles of the playwright, actor, director, dramaturg, and designer.

Most students chose to write about themselves or about something that has affected them over the years. However, knowing I would be given the chance to perform for the public, I wanted to give a voice to those who don’t have one: animals. The stories I could share about my life were not as important to me as sharing how harmful animal cruelty is. At that point of my life, I had been vegetarian for almost five years and would go vegan about once or twice a week. I had done a ton of research on the meat, egg, and dairy industry so I figured I could use my knowledge for my script.

The evolution of this piece was something I was most proud of. I started with the idea of utilizing the spaces animals in the meat industry are confined to. I ended up doing the math and figuring out how much space I would have to live in if I were a pig in those conditions. With this number, I cut up a piece of red satin to squeeze onto for the start of my piece.

I did not reveal to the audience what my characters were until over halfway of my performance. I personified the animals I portrayed (pig, cow, dog, and chicken) to allow audiences to feel empathy towards them.

After I performed this at JMU, I had many audience members come up to me and tell me they were going to try going vegetarian. A classmate even went vegetarian after seeing my piece progress throughout the semester. Something I heard a lot was people saying things like, “oh I would give up meat, but I love bacon too much.” My response is always, give up all meat except for *bacon.* This is one of the best ways for people to make a difference.

A few months later, I was asked by one of my professors if I would be willing to reprise my performance at Eastern Mennonite University. A few of my classmates also went to perform and we had a wonderful turnout along with a talkback afterwards.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Junior year of college I was cast in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as the swing for Quince and Starveling. This was my first experience swinging for a show.

Growing up, anytime I saw a Broadway show and an insert would be in a Playbill, I would be thrilled and immediately look up the performer getting to go on. One of my favorite Broadway stories is when I went up to see my mom’s friend, Johanna Day, in Sweat before it closed. We had tickets for Dear Evan Hansen a couple weeks later so when we got to New York my mom and I stagedoored for it because we didn’t have any other plans. We got there about forty minutes before the show ended and I saw a guy walk into the stage door that looked like Michael Lee Brown, who, at that time, was understudying Evan, Connor, and Jared. At this point, he had only gone on for Connor and Jared a few times. I told my mom all about him and how insane it must be to memorize three parts. Once the show let out, audience members crowded around us. Michael Lee Brown then walks out of the theatre and I point him out to my mom. No one applauded. No one knew who he was. But I did, I was just too shy to say anything. He walked away and went behind the crowd. My mom followed him and asked him if he’d be willing to sign my Playbill. He came back around the barricade and we talked for a while. He said this was the first time anyone had asked for his autograph at Dear Evan Hansen. The fans around us still didn’t acknowledge him which made my heart sink. When I came back to see the show two weeks later, Ben Platt was on vacation. Colton Ryan (who I also admire) had always been the one to go on as Evan when Ben Platt was out. However, the night I got to see the show, Michael Lee Brown was making his Evan debut. That night at the stagedoor, everyone knew who he was. He finally got the recognition he deserved and I was beyond thrilled to be there for it.

I always understood the importance of understudies, swings, and standbys, but getting the opportunity to be one taught me to appreciate them even more.

Director: Oliver Mayes Scenic Design: Richard Finkelstein Costume Design: Kathleen Conery Associate Costume Designers: Skyler James, Sophie Sons Lighting Design: Catherine Holcomb Production Manager-Technical Director: Brian Smallwood

Cast: Gavin Kiley, Amanda Willis, Bridget Gooley, Natalie Garciz-Ruiz, Maddie Thomas, Mason Jett, Abel Haddish, Joshua Higgins, Sydney Miller, Mitch Glaes, Jack Dalrymple, Madison Munson, Steven Sullivan, Cristian Bonilla Lainez, Carter Crosby, Maleek Hill, Diana Afriye-Opoku, Allie Lytle, Liam Klopfenstein, Lindsay Marcus, Becca Stehle, Bailey Ryon, Camden Gillespie, Drew Duren, Makayla Parker, Elizabeth Humphreys, Julia Bussey, Eliza Filatova