Fordham Theatre

Happy Birthday, Shakespeare!

I used to say that I didn’t like Shakespeare. Yes. It’s true. Throughout high school, and my first year at college, I adamantly denied the talent of The Bard. Whether it was the fault of a high school that subjected students to Shakespeare out of necessity rather than actual understanding, or if I was just too much of a theatrical hipster to like his work, I may never know. What I do know now, though, is that William Shakespeare is the greatest writer in the history of the human species. No one since him has written a play that’s even half as good as the worst of Shakespeare’s plays. That’s right. I said it. Even Merry Wives of Windsor is a work of genius. I am prepared to duel you on that point.

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The Power of Theatre

Michelle Ang

Performance Track

Class of 2016

Just closed what is, technically, my first show at Fordham. Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues.” A year ago, I was sitting in the aisle seat, watching my friends perform in this magnificent play in San Francisco. I never thought that I would get to be a part of my own production just a year later, with a group of ladies and gents that are just as passionate about One Billion Rising. What I love about the show is that it goes from one extreme to another in two seconds flat. It really is a roller coaster of emotions, a true mix of tragedy and comedy. One minute the audience is laughing at a particularly funny bit during a monologue, and then hard facts about rape and genital mutilation are thrown at them the very next beat.

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Tina B. as Jackie O.

Fordham Acting Professor TINA BENKO in “JACKIE” at The Women’s Project

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A Forum in Franny’s Space

The second I walk into Franny’s Space, my attention is drawn to the circle of rickety, old folding chairs in the center of the room. Cookies and pretzels are perched on the piano stool at the edge of the circle. Students are milling about. I smile at Dawn Saito. The actors in Signature Theatre’s production of David Henry Hwang’s “The Dance and the Railroad,” William Wu and Ruy Iskandar, are seated comfortably in two of the chairs in the circle. We all settle down, just as Matthew Maguire and Becca Ballenger join us in Franny’s. The next hour is one roller coaster ride of laughter and somberness as the two actors talk about their personal stories, networking in NYC theatres, the importance of perseverance, and being Asian American artists.

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A Theatre Fit for a King!

Garrett Kim

Performance Track

Class of 2016

Besides building a treehouse with my father in middle school, I haven’t had any experience in with designing structures. So when my friend asked me to assistant set design the first studio this semester, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Thankfully, I got to work with a fantastic set designer, Victoria Bausch, who showed me the ropes of set designing a studio show.

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How Do We Rise From Ruin?

Director’s Note from Isis Midary,

on RUINED by Lynn Nottage

In the Congo, rape is a weapon of warfare to gain territorial control through displacement and to establish a stranglehold of fear in the villages. Oftentimes, the brutal acts go beyond rape to purposeful mutilation. Predominantly, women and girls are the victims.

On January 3rd, at 4:45AM, a 23 year old Indian woman passed away peacefully in a Singapore hospital, after she was beaten with a rod and raped on a bus on her way home from watching the Life of Pi with a friend.

On Jan 13th, in Elmont, NY, a special needs student, the only girl in a class of 13 boys, was gang raped, with the teacher only a few feet away. The girl told the school social worker the next day, and the school failed to notify authorities.

Gender violence is one of the world’s most common human rights abuses. Women worldwide ages 15 through 44 are more likely to die or be maimed because of male violence than because of cancer, malaria, war and traffic accidents combined. Congress failed to renew the Violence Against Women Act, but Congress has also stalled on the global version, the International Violence Against Women Act, which would name and shame foreign countries that tolerate gender violence.

This is why this play. And why this play now.

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When Homework is Accidentally Fun

A strange, strange thing has happened to me this semester. I am actually actively enjoying all of the readings for my classes this semester. …No, really, I am. It’s weird, but I’m certainly not complaining. For my three theatre classes, I am required to read a total of about 20 plays this semester, and I had only read three of those 20 already.

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Sounds Good

JessicaTroy

Design & Production Track

Class of 2015

I’m really lucky to have the opportunity to be taking Sound Design this semester. Even though I don’t have much experience working with sound, I wanted to explore this area of theatre design, and learn from a working industry professional. Our professor is Daniel Baker, one half of Broken Chord Sound Collective, which has a mind-blowing number of credits. Most recently, Broken Chord designed The Jammer, at The Atlantic.

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Meeting My Director

Adaire Kamen

Playwriting Track

Class of 2014

One of the most exciting emails a Fordham playwright will get is the one that announces his or her next director. I got this email last semester, when I found out Pirronne Yousefzadeh would be directing my second production at Fordham (an untitled play going up in late April). Pirronne is a professional director here in New York, and has directed such places as New York Theatre Workshop, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Playwrights Horizons, to name a few.

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Study Abroad Stories: “Timeless”

Shea Kelly

Performance Track

Class of 2014

Our “Space, Place and Text” class at LDA uses the city of London as a tool for showing us the historical contexts of the works we are studying. We’ll be venturing on a number of trips throughout the semester to places like Stratford and Middle Temple to give us a close look at some of the essential spaces in the history of British theatre. This past Friday we went on an early morning excursion south of the river to The Rose Theatre, where Shakespeare’s earliest plays were performed.