Amanda Grillo

I recently had the pleasure of being invited to the Invited/Final Dress Rehearsal for Phoenix Stage Company's production of the laugh-out-loud riot, The Pink Panther Strikes Again adapted by William Gleason. This hysterical production was directed by Ed Bassett. Bassett wore many hats in this production also being credited in costuming (along with Lori Poulin), set design, and sound design. This clever production is a joy for all who are lucky enough to catch it.

I had the pleasure of catching Downtown Cabaret Theatre's production of THE FULL MONTY before they closed on May 19th. This high energy, heartfelt production let all inhibitions go and let the audiences to their insecurities. It was easy to feel empathy and care for each character on that stage. It evoked emotion and also kept you smiling with toe tapping songs. Based on the cult classic movie of the same name, THE FULL MONTY (book by Terrence McNally and music by David Yazbeck) brought joy to all audiences and is truly a reflection of excellent work of the director, Andrea Pane, who also played Keno.

I had the pleasure of seeing Neil Simon's THE DINNER PARTY at the High Plains Community Center presented by The Orange Players. Dinner parties where you don't know anybody can be awkward, but how about being blindsided by seeing an ex-spouse there? Three divorced couples are put in a private dining room in an unexpected, somewhat out of the blue dinner party. Hilarity ensues as the couples see each other, for some the first time in years, and they try to figure out why they are there and where is this mutual friend who invited them. Fabulously directed by Chelsea Dacey, this clever comedy was a joy to all.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature SPRING AWAKENING in Maine, A RAISIN IN THE SUN in Charlotte, and BUS STOP in Denver, just to name a few. Check out our top features below!

Coming up March 24th and 25th, we have the theater club's first short play festival. Completely student run, this festival will showcase published plays as well as two original student works. These plays are performed, designed, and directed by the students. As one of the student directors, I can't begin to tell you about how proud I am to be a part of this festival. This is my first time directing outside of classes and I am absolutely thrilled to be directing Smitten written by Mark Harvey Levine. The entire experience has shaped me as a director, actor, designer, and even an audience member. It has definitely impacted how I will look at future productions and has given me even more respect for the various positions involved in making a production happen. Let's meet some of my other fellow directors shall we?

Upon the embarking of tech week and opening the production, I had the pleasure of talking to two of the people responsible for creating the hideaway and the world of The Nether. I spoke with the sound designer, Alec Smith, and the set designer, Andy Esborn. They allowed me to pick their brains for a little as I learned about their position and their inspirations for this production.

It's that time of the semester! The first week of March transports the Bucknall theater at the University of New Haven to Jennifer Haley's cyber world of The Nether. I was lucky enough to get an exclusive first look and talk to the cast about what the process has been like and what you can expect when you come to see the show. Let's find out what they have to say. Shall we?

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature THE WHO'S TOMMY in Connecticut, HAND TO GOD in Columbus, THE BOOK OF MORMON in Melbourne and more. Check out our top features below!

I recently had the pleasure of joining classmates in the participation of the 49th Annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for Region 1. I found myself immersed in a world of talented future theatre professionals and current professionals that helped to mold my experience and bring me one step closer to accomplishing my goal.

For those that don't know, I personally identify as a 'techtor'. This term came to me one day when I was scrolling through Pinterest. It means an actor who is also a techie. Most people will pick one or the other and solely focus on one. That is honestly great for them. I, however, find that I am not alone in my adventure to learn everything. Several people that I've worked with are actors that also do tech or are techies that also act.

It's everywhere. Body Positive ads and videos work its way into the media on practically a daily basis. Stores are expanding the sizes they carry, girls are encouraged to embrace their curves, but all the same a photoshopped fantasy takes over our minds thinking what the ideal image is. I decided to take a look at how this affects the theatre world that I am so blessed to be a part of. I surveyed one hundred random, anonymous participants. The survey was distributed to several different theatre pages on social media where participants have a wide range of experiences and opinions. I also had the pleasure to interview Michael Kennedy (a student at the University of New Haven), Stephen Sheperd (a recent alumnus of the University of New Haven), and Diana Dart Harris (a professor at the University of New Haven whom has degrees in both dance education and exercise science).

As we start our new year, we are offering a more comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which will now include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature AMELIE in Los Angeles, ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN in Louisville, wrap-ups and previews of past and upcoming seasons and more.  Check out our top features below!

A big part of show business is typecasting. There are 'types' that people fall into. These can be based around age, race, gender, and personality. Some people this as an opportunity to play to their strengths. I once participated in a workshop where the instructor told us to 'know our types'. He then began to call people out one by one: 'You're a Fierstein. Try looking at Edna Turnblad or Tevye.' 'You're a Broderick. Look at his roles.' 'Streisand. You have a lot of options for material.' He compared us to already well known household names in the theatre world. What about embracing who you naturally are? Why be the next insert celebrity here , when you can make a name for yourself and be original? There are stock characters that people naturally gravitate towards with ease whether it be by look or by personality, but if people get locked into these types it begins to be all they are seen as. To some people, these types can be seen as limiting. There's not much variety in roles if they play the same kind of part over and over. Actors should try to expand their range of roles when possible. The popular belief of what is attractive doesn't necessarily need to be the leading players driving the action, but just because someone who isn't conventionally attractive drives the story doesn't mean it is an ugly duckling tale. Dramaturgy also comes into play if a character description is explicitly influencing the script. That being said, I've seen several productions where the characters look phenomenal. They are a perfect depiction of how the story describes, but the talent was subpar. It was very clear that a different person was a much better fit, though they might not have been the perfect image. This idea got me thinking: Just because you look the part, does that mean you deserve it?

In taking the class this semester, I learned so much about how theatre makes an impact on our community (yes, that is the class title and it is self explanatory). I learned about other theatre companies make their impact such as La Poca Nostra, the Yes Men, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe. I got the chance to research issues affecting our communities and collaborate with my classmates to make art addressing those issues. This show was certainly one for the books. With a minimal amount of rehearsal time, we put this show together within a matter of weeks. Everyone took on a wide array of responsibilities and I couldn't be prouder of my classmates. Here is what some of them had to say about their experiences:

Welcome Back! Decisions have been made and by the time you read this article we are merely days away from displaying our work and findings from the semester. Our title has been finalized as ?em-p?-th?. If you notice or it needs to be explained, this is the phonetic spelling of empathy, which has been the overall theme to our work. Our company has been hard at work in rehearsals and in the classroom. I decided to get an inside scoop from my classmates on their thoughts about the production and the class this semester as a whole. Let's get started shall we?

On November 19th, we played our last performance of Our Town at the University of New Haven. Every show had a unique element to it. Thanks to our dramaturg, Dr. Margaret Savilonis, and our helpful reliable team of ushers, the program contained an insert asking us what we would put into a time capsule, referring to the Act 1 speech from the Narrator. At the end of the show, to the audiences amazement, they walked out to the lobby which had their answers (which were collected at intermission) projected onto an image of the night sky. Like any show, we were sad to see it end. We learned about each other and ourselves through this process and we grew closer as a department.

Welcome back! By the time you see this article we will be 2 short days from OPENING NIGHT! Tech week is a time people dread, a time people love, a magical time where everything comes together. I decided to find out how my fellow cast members survive this week and comprised a not so short list of things that can help make this stressful time a little easier for everyone involved.

This week takes a turn to the future well, sort of. The future of Act three is the topic of the week. We find ourselves in an implied graveyard with rows of chairs and the inhabitants of those chairs represent the gravestones of the dearly departed.

Happy Halloween! This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature all the spooky stories in Washington, DC, St. Louis, South Africa and more. Check out our top 10 ghoulish stories around our Broadway World below, which include FREAKY FRIDAY in DC, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW in St. Louis, and DEAD YELLOW SANDS in South Africa, just to name a few.

As stated last week, the concept of family is a very large aspect of this production. Last week, we had the pleasure of meeting the Gibbs family. This week we get an inside look at the perspective of theatre and the production from the Webb family.