{"id":2262,"date":"2012-07-26T15:55:28","date_gmt":"2012-07-26T19:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/?p=2262"},"modified":"2013-05-07T14:58:51","modified_gmt":"2013-05-07T18:58:51","slug":"backstage-pass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/2012\/07\/26\/backstage-pass\/","title":{"rendered":"Backstage Pass"},"content":{"rendered":"

The actors at BU\u2019s oldest student theater group are many things, but there\u2019s one thing they\u2019re all not: acting majors.<\/h2>\n

By Jon Erik Christianson (CAS\u201914, COM\u201914)
\nPhoto of Stage Troupe rehearsal by Vernon Doucette<\/h4>\n

\u201cThis is going to be the death of me,\u201d I said as I typed \u201chow to build a coffin\u201d into Google. A few instructional websites came up, but none fit the requirements. We needed to build four identical coffins that were light enough to be carried, but also sturdy enough to be jumped on. To make matters worse, our most experienced coffin builder was not picking up his phone.<\/p>\n

On the bright side, I had just found out that locating fake guns and explosives was going to be much easier than I had thought.<\/p>\n

\"A
A scene from \u201ccolumbinus\u201d. Photo by Sarah Ann Adams (CAS\u201911)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is just one window into my life with Stage Troupe<\/a>, Boston University\u2019s largest and oldest student-run theater group. The coffins were for columbinus<\/em>, a play based on the Columbine High School massacre, and one of 12 productions I have worked on since joining the group in the fall of 2010. Established in 1950, Stage Troupe is an acting group with a difference: the actors are not professionals. One of its 300 members, I’m a student at the Colleges of Communication and Arts & Sciences by day and a member of the tech crew\u2014or \u201ctechie\u201d\u2014by night. In an average year, we put on at least eight \u201cmainstage\u201d shows and host a myriad of special projects, such as biannual one-act festivals and a \u201cTech Show\u201d (where the techies act, the actors tech, and the audience stays the same). The mainstage shows include a Parents Weekend musical in the fall\u2014our 2012 production will be Little Shop of Horrors<\/em>; scroll down for ticket details\u2014and a charity show in the spring.<\/p>\n

Unprofessionals Acting Professionally<\/h3>\n

The actors of Stage Troupe might not be professionals, but that\u2019s not to say they aren\u2019t professional<\/em>\u2014they\u2019re just not theater majors in the College of Fine Arts. Instead, Stage Troupe seeks to give future engineers, teachers, and businesspeople a stab at the spotlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s fun for me; I\u2019d never want to make it a job,\u201d says Allie Romano (CAS\u201913), a psychology major and current Stage Troupe treasurer.<\/p>\n

Despite not wanting to make acting her job, Romano has certainly worked hard at Stage Troupe. In a little over two years, she has acted in eight productions, worked in eight technical positions, directed a one-act play, and spent a year as treasurer.<\/p>\n

Her dedication stems from her very first experience with Stage Troupe, when she was cast as the supportive grandmother Nat in the family drama Rabbit Hole<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I think of Rabbit Hole<\/em>, I think of sunshine and butterflies and beautiful fall afternoons and having hope again in life,\u201d says Romano, who admits she found the transition to college life a difficult one. \u201cIt gave me everything. Troupe has given me a family; it\u2019s given me something to do outside of classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Travis
Travis Cherry (CAS'12) and Meagan Bernatchez (CAS\u201914) in \u201cFarragut North\u201d. Photo by Katy Meyer (COM'14)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond Stage Troupe<\/h3>\n

While Stage Troupe may have given Romano a family, it inspired BU alum Josh Friedensohn (ENG\u201910) to shift career paths.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing theater in college, which was never something I thought I was going to do, has oriented my career goals so much,\u201d says Friedensohn.<\/p>\n

In his four years with Stage Troupe, he held technical positions in more than 30 productions and served as technical advisor during his senior year. After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, he became a production and operations assistant at BU\u2019s Tsai Performance Center. He\u2019s also expanded his skills with the Vagabond Theatre Group, an arts organization based in Boston and founded by Stage Troupe members past and present.<\/p>\n

\"Stage\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure in about a year I\u2019ll be going to grad school for theater,\u201d continues Friedensohn. \u201cStage Troupe really ignited my passion for theater and creativity and how I can apply my college degree to that creative field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Romano, on the other hand, says that although acting won\u2019t become a career, Stage Troupe has nevertheless shaped her future plans. Hoping to become a school psychologist, she \u201cwould like to run a theater program at [my future] school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before she gets that far, however, she\u2019ll have to navigate her upcoming job that\u2019s not a job\u2014directing Stage Troupe\u2019s fall 2012 Parents Weekend musical, Little Shop of Horrors<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Little Shop<\/em>!\u201d she exclaims. \u201cIt\u2019s so much fun; it\u2019s dark and it\u2019s creepy and it\u2019s exciting and it has all this energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why I Cared about Coffins<\/h3>\n
\"Ryan
Ryan Chernin (SHA\u201915), left, and Dan Stevens (SMG\u201914) in \u201ccolumbinus\u201d. The names on the blackboard are those of Columbine High School massacre victims. Photo by Sarah Ann Adams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Through Stage Troupe, Romano found a family, Friedensohn found a different future, and I found a cause worth fighting for. Finding a solution to my coffin dilemma wasn\u2019t just about ensuring the show could go on. columbinus<\/em> was Stage Troupe\u2019s spring 2012 charity show. Every dollar raised would be donated to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), one of the largest antibullying organizations in the country.<\/p>\n

People in Stage Troupe, many of whom had been bullied in high school, came together to work on the show. To give the most money possible to GLSEN, we worked without a budget. In four weeks, we put up a show, coffin assembly included, with a strong antibullying message and raised over $2,000 for a worthwhile cause.<\/p>\n

For me, Stage Troupe is special not because it supports a large membership. Stage Troupe is special because its large membership supports people, both inside and outside of the club.<\/p>\n

Little Shop of Horrors will be performed October 19\u201321, 2012. Tickets will be available at the door at the Tsai Performance Center<\/a><\/em>; students may purchase tickets in advance from Activities Information, located on the second floor of the George Sherman Union.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The actors at BU\u2019s oldest student theater group are many things, but there\u2019s one thing they\u2019re all not: acting majors. By Jon Erik Christianson (CAS\u201914, COM\u201914) Photo of Stage Troupe rehearsal by Vernon Doucette \u201cThis is going to be the death of me,\u201d I said as I typed \u201chow to build a coffin\u201d into Google. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4966,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8921,8918],"tags":[8939,8732,8941,8729,8940,8942],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4966"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2262"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3607,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262\/revisions\/3607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/parentmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}