MIA CIECHALSKI
Life & Arts Editor
Photo provided by Riley Stanton.
As the semester begins to wrap up, it seems we all could use a little company.
That’s exactly what Fredonia’s Performing Arts Company (PAC) had in mind as they recently performed a musical of the same name.
“Company,” performed on April 11-12 in the Alice E. Bartlett Theater, was directed by senior psychology major and dance minor Riley Stanton. Junior BFA acting major and music and dance minor Julia Ferrara worked as assistant director.
Stanton was the one who initiated the idea of putting together the show for this year’s PAC performance lineup.
“‘Company’ has always held a very special place in my heart. It was one of the first musicals I had discovered through a YouTube bootleg. I knew after working on other shows for PAC that I really wanted to give directing a shot, and I knew I wanted to pick a show that meant a lot to me,” said Stanton.
Before rehearsals officially began, there were a lot of preparations that Stanton had to complete.
For example, she asked people if they would be interested in working with her on this show and came up with a good pitch to the E-board members of PAC to see if it would make the next year’s lineup.
“Riley had asked me about a year ago if I’d be interested in joining her team as her assistant director to be able to offer help for the acting side of things for her ‘Company’ pitch,” said Ferrara.
This opportunity was a new experience for both of them, and it taught them so much within a few short months.
“I was incredibly nervous going into this process because I don’t have any educational background in theatre. But Julia has been my absolute rock when it comes to the techniques and intricacies of acting and directing,” said Stanton. “I have learned so much from directing alongside her [and] working with everyone else on the team. This was an extremely educational experience for me, and I will forever be grateful for everything I have learned from my peers.”
Ferrara agreed: “If I ever was to direct something, I always thought it would be a play because as an acting major, I am not well-versed in directing musicals. See[ing] everyone do their assigned jobs was incredibly helpful because I got a little taste of what those aspects of direction would look like.”
Ferrara also used many tactics and techniques from some of her acting classes to help her with this new opportunity as well.
Since the musical was a new experience for the both of them, there were some challenges along the way for Stanton and Ferrara, and for some of the cast members too.
Stanton said, “This is the largest creative work I have ever done, let alone looking at the fact that I have never directed anything before. My experience in theatre thus far has been simply choreographing, so a four-minute dance number does not amount to two hours and 45 minutes of blocking, singing, and acting.”
Senior voice major Teddy Van De Ven IV, who is playing the lead character Robert, noted some of these challenges. “For me, [the biggest obstacle] was the amount of lines, on top of the great undertaking of the role. It’s been a lot of work while also doing it with school.”
However, he learned a very important lesson during “Company”’s musical’s rehearsals and performances.
“Something I learned through this process was stamina. Being able to perform a role like Robert, you’re on stage the entire time with no breaks. So, if you don’t have stamina, you won’t be able to get through it all,” said Van De Ven.
Van De Ven attributes Fredonia for teaching him this through the voice lessons he has received during his time here.
Despite these obstacles, no challenge could dampen this experience for anyone involved because of the time, effort and bonds that have been created.
“Being able to work with the cast was easily my favorite part,” said Stanton. “They are such a silly and talented group of people who showed such passion and dedication from day one. It was so much fun to just spend time with everyone and really build on relationships and friendships in the room.”
Ferrara added, “The best part of directing this show was by far the incredible cast. They all brought such wildly beautiful parts of themselves to their characters, and getting to work in this dynamic with my peers and friends has been so rewarding and so fun.”
Putting together this show was a lot of work, but once it was officially finished, you could tell all of the people who were involved were proud of what they created.
Van De Ven said, “It finally felt like a sense of accomplishment and completion; it was gratifying.”