the red masquers newsletter S P R I N G 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 2
ST. GENESIUS, PRAY FOR US. IN MY OLD SCHOOL, WE NEVER SAID “BREAK A LEG”
table of contents WE ALWAYS SAID “GOOD SHOW” AND IT MEANT “PLAY WITH LOVE”.
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the president’s address
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from the musical to the musicless
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farewell, peter mills!
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red masquer memories
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by marsha mayhak
by gabrielle antonicelli
by abby blackmon
by laura (miller) donaldson
welcome to the family
by kim caione
the president’s address by marsha mayhak
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ell, Masquers, it’s the end of an era! As we enter the last semester of our time in Peter Mills Auditorium and I enter the second semester of my senior year, I stare at this blank page and realize that there is only one way to move forward: to dive in headfirst.
ary; Album hits the stage in April; and One Acts for Charity, supporting the Mario Lemieux foundation, will be presented April 29. As always, we’d like to see as many friendly faces as possible in the audience, as well as at crews, Big Jim’s, and assisting with prep for the move.
Rehearsals for this year’s alumni show, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, are underway, and it has been amazing to see such a talented mixture of enthusiastic new students and faithful returning faces. It is with the energy and passion demonstrated by this and other such casts that we must wrap up our time in Rockwell Hall and prepare to move forward into our new space. That is why we have chosen to open up participation in all of our shows next season to all Red Masquers, old and new. We are hopeful that this will strengthen the Masquer community as we proceed through our big move, while acting as a reminder to alumni and an introduction to new students of what this organization is all about.
There are countless memories within (and written on) the walls of Peter Mills, and for many Masquers across the years, it has become somewhat of a second home. In some ways, it may be hard to say goodbye, but it is important to remember that with this ending comes an incredible new beginning. The past will live on in the hearts of Red Masquers everywhere, even as we look forward to this new era of growth and improvement. We may be moving to a slightly more desirable location on the bluff, but beyond that, the Red Masquers aren’t going anywhere. Bet you thought I couldn’t get any sappier than last time.
In the meantime, we need as much support as possible. We have some great shows planned for this spring! A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, featuring some familiar favorites and some great new talent, opens in Febru-
I’ll leave you with this, a little tidbit from Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: “We do on stage things that are supposed to happen off. Which is a kind of integrity, if you look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.”
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from the musical to the musicless
by gabrielle antonicelli n high school, I was always an active member of the annual musical. From the difficult dissonance of Sondheim’s Into the Woods, to the campy, familiar melodies of The Wizard of Oz, each year our cast would work diligently under the guidance of our director, Mrs. Tess Gist, to produce a full-length, quality production. I loved musical theatre, and never really considered the possibility of acting in a play. Plays are easy, I thought. They’re just musicals, minus the music and choreography. Where’s the challenge?
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Boy, was I wrong. On August 26th, I auditioned for the Red Masquers’ production of I Am a Camera. I had been on campus for exactly one week at that point, and didn’t expect much from the audition. Two days later though, I got the email saying I’d made the cut; I had officially been cast into my first Red Masquers’ production. In the following month, I would learn a ridiculous amount by watching my fellow cast members on stage, and of course by following our director, John Lane’s, insane acting exercises.
letting the energy drain from the scene!” I even felt a shift in my acting itself; whereas in musical theatre emotions are normally expressed through song, in the world of the play actors have to be able to use their speaking voices and body language to convey realistic, natural emotional responses. Without the fabricated energy, tones, rises, and falls provided by the songs and dances of musical theatre, I was more free to develop my own character and emotions. This was far more challenging than I had anticipated, as I had to pull from my own personality and experiences rather than relying on a musical score to set the tone and temperament of my character. Accordingly, my acting became more genuine and realistic. In the words of April Henry, “Don’t Act. Be.”
Now none of this is to disrepute the work of musical theatre; I still hold a great deal of respect, admiration, and personal enjoyment I had previously perceived plays as a simpler for musicals. Yet as I begin to work in my second production with the Red Masquers, A version of musical theatre…but you see, the Chaste Maid in Cheapside, I hold an equal thing about a play is, all you have is your amount of regard for the music-less theatre. acting. Working with the cast and crew of I The raw type of energy, emotion, and acting Am a Camera, I quickly realized just how needed to make a play interesting has cerdifficult it is to create an interesting, worthtainly benefited my personal acting abilities, while production without hiding behind the not to mention the amazingly supportive, fun glitz and glam of jazz squares and four-part harmonies. Without the razzle-dazzle of musi- environment created by the Red Masquers cal theatre, I found myself constantly working themselves. I look forward to many future to maintain energy on stage, as John enthusi- productions alongside my fellow Masquers, and many new lessons and improvements to astically yelled from the audience to “stop learn from.
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farewell, peter mills! by abby blackmon
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eter Mills Auditorium has been the home of the Red Masquers for over a decade. Backstage, the writings of generations of students cover the walls commemorating years of fond memories and experiences showcasing the history of the Red Masquers. Signatures, drawings and jokes connect old members to new. I have always enjoyed looking at these walls like a window into the past.
hello, genesius project!
As both the historian for the organization and a history major, I spend much of my time looking to the past. Recently, I began updating the roster of all former Masquers. Throughout this project, it was incredible to see just how many people from all areas of study and from all over the world have been a part of this organization over the last 102 years. While some have continued on in their professional pursuit of the performing arts, others have ventured on to new careers in medicine, law, education and many other fields. The stage is a home to many providing the backdrop to fond memories that we will remember for years to come. As the Masquers continue to grow and develop as a theater company, it is amazing to see how far we have come and where we are going. In seven short months we will have a new home in the black box theater. The memories that remain in Peter Mills will always be a part of our history as we continue on. However, this new theater offers us a unique opportunity to create new memories. And we have a fresh slate of walls to draw on. Which is pretty great because Peter Mills is running out of room.
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red masquer memories by laura (miller) donaldson
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can still remember the first show I ever did in the Peter Mills Theatre. It was Anton Chekov’s Three Sisters, and I was cast as Natasha. It was 1997, and I was a wideeyed freshman who couldn’t wait to get my feet on that stage. Martin Giles, a well-known and award-winning Pittsburgh actor, was our director who also happened to feel like a friend you’d known your whole life. Little did I know that my experience working on Three Sisters with Marty would eventually set me on a path to professional work in the Pittsburgh theatre scene and now, almost two decades later, my final show on the Peter Mills stage. With the new theatre currently being built and slated for completion in the fall semester of this year, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge what an incredible home away from home the Peter Mills Theatre was for me.
Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre (now known as PICT Classic Theatre), as well as signed with an agent for commercial, industrial film, and voice-over work, and I had the good fortune of meeting and working with some incredible people. But all the while, the Peter Mills Theatre was where my heart felt most at home. I felt the most authentic version of myself come through when I walked up those steps and into the theatre. The smell was so familiar and comfortable. The notes and inside jokes written on the walls in the wings ensured that I was never alone; my fellow actors’ and predecessors’ souls laid bare on those cinder block walls, reminding me that we were a family, that we’d all experienced this life-changing thing called the theatre, that we’d experienced it at Duquesne, in the Peter Mills Theatre, together.
Now, as I prepare for the role of Lady Kix in A Chaste Maid in Cheapside in the final season at the Peter Mills Theatre, these memories flood over me, reminding me what an honor and privilege it was to spend so many, many As my years at Duquesne sped by, I perhours on that stage, with those friends, with formed in almost a dozen shows, worked with those directors. I’m an alumna, nearly two incredible directors like Jay Keenan and John decades after my first time stepping foot on Lane, learned and practiced the craft of that stage, getting ready to say goodbye acting, and confidently picked up a power to a home that shaped me in more ways tool to help build sets. The Peter Mills Theatre than I can express. I do not take the honor felt like my truest second home. It was there of performing in the alumni show lightly. It is that I spent the majority of my weeknights in a rare gift, a chance to return to what feels rehearsals and my weekends building sets like a place of birth for me, a place where I and running lines with my fellow actors while became the truest self I’ve ever known. Peter sitting in the back row near the stage manMills Theatre, and the incredible people who ager’s booth. When my junior year rolled shared with me their lives within its walls, will around, I branched out and began doing remain in my heart long after it takes its final professional work with companies like the bow.
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S O
G O O D
S H O W ,
E V E R Y B O D Y ,
G O O D
S H O W !
welcome to the family by kim caione
I
have been involved with theater since the sixth grade. I have been a part of virtually every aspect of a production; I have acted, sang, danced, built sets, fundraised, advertised, worked lights and sound, prepared entire casts’ hair and makeup, worked with costumes, and an assortment of other random shenanigans. While doing all of this at times was rather stressful, I made memories I would never give up for the world. When it came time for college, I knew that what I wanted, more than anything, was to be a part of a theater group. Some may think that’s crazy and it is; theater people are crazy. However, I find there’s a bond among
theater people like no other. We become a family. When I graduated and had to leave my drama family of seven years behind, I was welcomed into a new one with open arms: The Duquesne University Red Masquers. While the group is accepting of anyone of any skill level or major to join, I had to put in the effort to prove that I would be a dedicated Masquer. I got to know members of the group by attending their social events, auditioning for roles (even when I knew the chances were slim), participating in crews despite not having a role in the show, and being an audience member.
acter - proving that I wanted to be a part of this new family. This semester, I will be performing in A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. While I am most certainly not a leading lady, I am on stage and feel like I am a member of the family. So, if you are like me and looking not just to be on stage, but to be a part of a family like no other, then join the Red Masquers. Don’t let auditions scare you or not being cast in a show drive you away. Go to crews, social events, and shows. Get involved and become a part of the Red Masquers family.
While at first I was not on stage, I was proving my char-
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