NEWS

Our Favorite Moments

Favorite moment? Mine was definitely the first time we had an audience for The Threepenny Opera. We were all in the theatre, calling out our lines from every direction, the audience leaned forward, the band started playing, we all took our seats on stage, Ken Booth’s moving lights starting dancing around the room and Abu stood up to sing “Oh the shark’s teeth. . .” Magic, indeed.

– Deborah Strang, Resident Artist, Mrs. Peachum in The Threepenny Opera

My favorite moment from the spring season was the dinner on stage. It was a fabulous and fun evening with a wonderful crowd of people there to support theater education.

– Alicia Green, Director of Education and Community Engagement

A favorite moment of mine: Charles Morey gave the traditional symposium on the Wednesday evening preview for Figaro. It was a thrill to have an actual LIVING playwright discussing the play with the audience (which was composed of adults and students), and it was even more special to watch the cast sneak out from the dressing rooms to listen in on what Charles was saying.

– Michael Bateman, General Manager

I have to start with my favorite show of the entire season, The Threepenny Opera. Why is it my favorite show? Amazing direction, the fabulous voices of the lead singers, and the beautiful designs of Angela Calin.  Seeing the show come to life was spectacular. I have seen the show more than twice and I just can’t get enough.

– Maria Uribe, Costume Shop Coordinator

I don’t think I will ever forget the evening rehearsal a week before our first preview of Julius Caesar when the “Antony speech to the crowd” scene clicked for Rafael Goldstein and the ensemble. Rafael climbed upon the Genie Lift for the first time—and something about where he was in that moment as an artist along with an ensemble that was beginning to work together as a unit, set that scene on fire that evening. I found myself howling with laughter as I watched the scene take a quantum leap forward.

– Geoff Elliott, Producing Artistic Director

My favorite moments are usually right after we walk offstage, after the curtain call, when I’m walking through the shop back to the dressing rooms and, through the wall, I hear the audience start to stir. There’s almost always that one moment, a short one, right as the house-lights come on, where everyone in the audience comes back to the world they live in most of the time. You can hear it.

– Rafael Goldstein, Resident Artist, Marc Antony in Julius Caesar

One of the most memorable elements of ANW’s spring season for me was the hilarious rapid-fire banter and physical comedy brought to life by the cast of Figaro. I laughed more watching this play than I do at most stand-up comedy shows! I also enjoyed the darkness of Julius Caesar and the vision of Caesar in his metallic gray robes—and the vision of him as a corpse covered in his own blood won’t leave my mind. The musicians accompanying the Threepenny Opera gave the viewing experience an added dimension both sonically and visually.

– Kate Hawkes, Bookkeeper

My favorite part of the 14-15 season at A Noise Within was The Dance of Death. I’m fascinated by dramas that show us how relationships can unravel and delicate facades will crumble over time. I thought the cast did a phenomenal job portraying the complex characters—I laughed and I cried. It was a treat to see this new version of a Strindberg classic!

– Emily Schmidt, Box Office Staff

My favorite moment: It must have been the third rehearsal, or thereabouts, and I realized that near the end of the first or beginning of the second act I was watching the rehearsal. Not getting ready, not going over notes- I was flat-out watching this amazing cast entertain me. As the rehearsal went on, I noticed that everyone was watching, and laughing. They weren’t on computers or phones. No books were out—just everyone in the room watching, enjoying, and laughing. And that happened again. Every day.

– Jeremy Guskin, Figaro in Figaro

I think it would have to be on a break early in rehearsals for Julius Caesar: I watched Rob (Dean, Resident Artist, Brutus) coaching Zach (Zachary Kahn, Spring Acting Intern, Ensemble) on iambic pentameter. It was just really cool.

– June Carryl, Cinna/Plebian in Julius Caesar

My favorite moment of the season was a small but memorable one: when the ping pong balls fell from the sky in The Tempest, I was struck with that sense of whimsy that only the hyperbole of thoughtful production design can offer. It wasn’t “true to life,” but it was emotionally true to the moment. I loved that.

– Hayley Huntley, Box Office Staff

I believe one of a number of fabulous moments from this season was the first time the full band played during a rehearsal of The Threepenny Opera. It was absolutely magical!  The wonderfully strange combination of instruments called for by Kurt Weill in combination with the high-caliber performers whom DeReau K. Farrar, our musical director, assembled put the entire cast in a kind of euphoric trance that night.

– Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, Producing Artistic Director

The highlight of the Spring Season for me was being able to attend the RevolutionaryRep performances of The Threepenny Opera and Julius Caesar. The opportunity to view both plays back-to-back in one day allowed me to clearly see the directors’ vision through the use of similar costuming and same set pieces. I would not have been able to reflect upon these two amazing plays in the way that I did without experiencing them in RevRep.

– Jonathan Padron, Education Intern

I would have to say, it would be the moment when Shea Donovan found out that her grandfather had passed away during the show and she was unable to get back to the East Coast for services because of performances, and other extenuating circumstances. Our hearts broke for her and we decided to all pitch in to get her a flight home—which she wasn’t able to do because of timing. All the girls in the dressing room held her and comforted her. And then, somehow, we were all sharing stories about our own experiences of having to go on in the face of a tragedy. We rallied behind Shea and supported her the best way we could in that moment…as artists, who prove time and time again, the show must go on.

– Stasha Surdyke, Jenny Diver in The Threepenny Opera

I was going through a breakup near the start of our run, and before the show, I sit with Rob Dean (Resident Artist, Brutus) in the wings waiting to go on. And he turned to me, and said “something is different, I won’t pry, but I know something is different” so I told him about it, and he held me by the shoulders and said “We heal, we are hurt, and we heal. And I’m always here for you if you need it.” And that little moment with someone for whom I had such a deep level of respect for truly made things somewhat alright for the moment. And in that moment, it was so amazing to see how much of a family I had here at the theatre, and his small gesture helped me get through that show, and I’ll never forget it. So thankful for my newly found ANW family. P.s. Ladies, I’m single.

– Abubakr Ali, Crook-Fingered Jack in The Threepenny Opera and Soothsayer/Lucius/Plebian in Julius Caesar

My favorite show: Figaro. I loved seeing a whole stage full of people with brassier, pouffier hair (and more age-inappropriate clothing!) than my own. Offstage moment: When a matinee’s start time was delayed because a cast member was in a (thankfully, minor) auto accident, Melody offered audience members a free glass of wine—and I was tapped as bar staff.  A very pretty young Italian woman gave me a $3 tip, which did wonders for my male ego. But later, I told the story to a friend, who really burst my bubble: “Honey, she clearly didn’t understand the vino was free. Either that, or she was so horrified that someone your age was still working as a barkeep that it was a pity tip.”  As the old theatrical advice goes: “Keep your day job, Dave!”

– David Andrusia, Marketing Director

My favorite moment would have to be entering on the “horse” at the end of Threepenny to save the day for my old friend, Mack the Knife. The white hat and gloves, the leather saddle, the majestic painting of the horse behind me, the fun recitative I get to sing…it’s just terrifically fun to do every performance.

– Jeremy Rabb, Resident Artist, Tiger Brown in The Threepenny Opera

My favorite moment on stage was during the garden scene with the Countess dressed as Suzanne. Especially when the audience would gasp at the Count calling Suzanne more beautiful than the Countess. When I heard that, I knew we had the crowd in the palms of our hands!

– Andrew Ross Wynn, Count Almaviva in Figaro

My favorite moment was sitting in on the talkbacks for student matinees and hearing the students’ questions. I thought they were going to be juvenile questions about swords and costumes, but I was so impressed by some students’ asking about concepts and themes and discussing the edits made for this production. Immediately after Alicia (Green, Education Director) asked who had questions, half the students raised their hands and it made me excited for the next generation of theatre enthusiasts!

– Taylor Wesselman, General Management Intern