|
Last weekend, soprano Bernie Tirador and the rest of Wheeling Jesuit University's cast put on Pippin for the last time. See what she has to say about her experience with the show in the interview below!
What's your favorite thing about playing Catherine?
"At first, I wanted to play Catherine because she was energetic and kind of cheesy in a fun way, but as I got into the role, I fell in love with the part because she was the turning point of the whole show. She breaks out of the imaginary world, becomes a reality, and saves Pippin's life. Because of Catherine, Death is foiled for perhaps the first time in that vicious cycle. I think her character is representative of the hope we all try to cling to. What was the hardest thing about playing her? "Because Catherine starts off lighthearted and sort of manipulative, just like all the other players, I had to make the transition to a real woman falling in love seem somehow realistic. She has to portray love, pain, and loyalty. It's kind of an emotional roller coaster!" What's your favorite song from the show? "I Guess I'll Miss the Man. This is the song Catherine sings after Pippin leaves her and she realizes she loves him. It actually has comical undertones, just like the whole show, but I found the song deeply emotional and honest. I actually struggled not to cry while singing it a couple times." What's your funniest tech week story? "Well I can't think of any funny tech week stories. But I have a slightly comical, somewhat disastrous show day story so we'll just go with that. Friday the Thirteenth, someone said the "M" word in the theater (for those of you who don't know, saying "Macbeth" inside the theater is bad luck; you're basically asking for disaster to strike). That night, the bad luck fell on me. I have a sex scene in Act II, and sometime during all the squirming and flailing my mic pack managed to open itself and spill the batteries. But I didn't realize this, I thought it had just turned off with all the steamy action. So while the audience thought Pippin and I were getting it on under the sheets, he was actually reaching down my costume and trying to figure out what the heck the problem was. I finished up the act having to project my lines and songs extra loud. When I took off my dress after the show, two AWOL batteries fell out. I taped my pack closed for the rest of the weekend." What makes this cast special? "We had so many newcomers and it pulled from so many different social groups. We have a freshman-heavy cast - Pippin, for example, was played by a freshman - and some upperclassmen who had never done theater before. It was an eclectic group that never would have formed without this show, and yet we quickly became a family. Our GroupMe and group snap are still blowing up my phone, and I can't see that slowing down anytime soon."
0 Comments
 Congratulations to music educators Eby Buscher and Robby Napoli! Over the past weekend, they participated in the Adams County Arts Council’s Music Day with other members of the Sunderman Conservatory’s Music Education program. This program was designed to get children in the surrounding area excited about learning a new instrument. Eby and Robby had a great time teaching kids about the tubano and djembe together! Enjoy pictures from the day below. March 24 marked the end of the Gettysburg College Choir's ten performances (including seven full concerts, and three educational outreach performances) over their Spring Tour. In their repertoire was a piece written specifically for them, by our director, Robby Napoli. This piece, Lux Aeterna, is dedicated to the memory of Zach Misleh, a dear friend of many founding members of Lux, who passed away suddenly during our Summer 2017 season. In that concert, we sang Prayer of the Children in memory of him, as it was his favorite song from DeMatha's choir repertoire. Below is a performance of this piece at Christ Chapel in Gettysburg, PA. The Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College invites you to their production of Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus, featuring, among others, Eby Buscher (Rosalinda), Hannah Kolarik (Rosalinda, cover), Robby Napoli (Alfred), and Austin Nikirk (Adele). This hilarious drama will be sure to keep you wondering where the next plot twist is! Die Fledermaus will be showing at the Majestic Theatre on April 26 (Thursday) & April 27 (Friday). Buy tickets below!
 Robby asked the Easter Bunny for a new alto, and low-and-behold, the Easter Bunny provides! All jokes aside, we are delighted to announce our newest member, Hannah Kolarik. A sophomore Music major at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College, she has a wealth of choral knowledge and experience. Read all about her on her brand new profile!
Congratulations to Amanda Densmoor and Collin Power on their joint Junior Recital this past Monday! It was a beautiful night of Purcell, Vaughan Williams, Schumann, and more, culminating in a duet from Mozart's The Magic Flute. In the slideshow can be found a picture of four Lux members (Amanda, Collin, Robby Napoli and Austin Nikirk) together after the recital. Congratulations are in order for soprano Austin Nikirk, who has recently been accepted into the Kolbe Scholars Program at Gettysburg College! This summer, she will be conducting research on the art song of American composer Amy Beach with Dr. William O'Hara of the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College, culminating in a lecture-recital in the Spring of 2019.  Alto Anya Trudeau had the opportunity last weekend to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York with the National Youth Choir, under the direction of Greg Gilpin. After winning the Festival Disney choral competition in Orlando, Florida, St. John's High School's choir was invited to join the National Youth Choir at Carnegie Hall. Anya said it was a beautiful venue and a great opportunity to distract from daily life to simply focus on music. In the picture below, Anya poses with friends in the seats of the hall in which they performed.  Yesterday marked the end of the Gettysburg College Choir's domestic tour, which marked the premiere of director Robby Napoli's newest piece, Lux Aeterna. Their last concert was at St. Jerome's Catholic Church - familiar grounds for the Lux members, past and present, in the Gettysburg College Choir. Among the audience were quite a few founding members of Lux, who were very excited to see each other again, and even sing a piece or two together after the concert. Left to right: Nicole Densmoor, Abigail Winston, Robby Napoli, Austin Nikirk, Eby Buscher, John Mullan, Rick Hale, Tommy Rust, Ciaran Cain, and John-Paul Teti  |
RSS Feed
