Thursday, July 08, 2010
New Harmony Theatre summer season is hands-on learning for USI senior
Paul Mindrup
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Wendy Knipe Bredhold Media Relations Specialist, News & Information Services 812/461-5259 When Mindrup, an Evansville native and graduate of Mater Dei High School, is not answering phones, taking messages, ferrying actors between Evansville and New Harmony, penning press releases and ads, coordinating media interviews, or helping out in the box office, he's memorizing lines and blocking for the roles of Tom and Jim (the gentleman caller) in the Tennessee Williams drama. With little acting experience beyond a couple of community theatre productions, Mindrup added the theatre minor to his degree program in spring 2010. Between roles with New Harmony Theatre and USI's prestigious Repertory Project, he's already earned more than a dozen valuable points toward qualifying for membership in the exclusive Actors Equity Association, the professional union of stage actors and managers. The Repertory Project is a two-play season of joint productions by USI Theatre and New Harmony Theatre that offers USI students the opportunity to include professional Actors Equity Association productions on their resumes even before graduating from USI, a distinction which puts the USI Department of Performing Arts in league with some of the country's elite theatre programs. Mindrup said, "It's a great opportunity to work with Equity actors. That's the greatest benefit of it, the ability to work with people who do this professionally and learn from them. I'm learning a lot about how seriously professional actors take their research." Mindrup had roles in the spring 2010 Repertory Project performance of "Hamlet" and New Harmony Theatre's "The School for Scandal," which opened the summer 2010 season. As understudy for the male roles in "The Glass Menagerie," Mindrup attends most rehearsals. "I thought I was prepared for a role, but it's showing me how much more I need to put into it. Also, professionals are more open to suggestions about their role. They'll do things differently until they get it right. I am learning how open you should be in taking on a role." Simply driving the professional actors to the theatre in New Harmony has been a learning experience. "Toward the end of the run the actors are more relaxed and will talk about how they started out or how the acting economy is. You get an insight into that world. It's very interesting to hear their stories." He's also learning a lot about the marketing world, taking his learning out of the classroom for the first time. "It's giving me a good idea of what I'm in for if I pursue marketing as a career. I get a bit of satisfaction listening to or reading something and knowing that I wrote it. It's fulfilling when you check in with the box office and you find out they sold more tickets as a result of your work." As Mindrup enters his senior year, he welcomes the opportunity to play any role in the next USI Theatre season, on or off-stage. "I want to be part of every production, whether that means being an actor or behind the scenes, but I want to be on stage as much as I can. I think every actor does." As an understudy, he probably won't perform on stage in "The Glass Menagerie," Williams' semi-autobiographical chronicle of a domineering mother's desperate attempt to find a husband for her painfully shy daughter. The play features Joy Franz as Amanda, Loren Dunn as Tom, Marnye Young as Laura, and Markus Potter as Jim. Scenery, costumes, and lighting are by New Harmony Theatre veterans Tijana Bjelajac, Shan Jensen, and Craig A. Young. Tickets are $22 for adults, $20 for seniors (60 and over), and $10 for anyone 25 or younger. Show time is 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday beginning July 9 through July 25. For information or to purchase tickets, contact the box office at 812/682-3115 or toll free at 1-877-NHT-SHOW (648-7469), or go to www.newharmonytheatre.com. |
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