FEATURE
Zipoli Scholar Kegan Lovell '19 on the organ
CONTINUED FROM P. 17
18 JESUIT PERSPECTIVES • WINTER 2018-19
For generations, the Jesuit Masque
Himes Ave. Yearbooks dating back
decades have recorded dozens of classic
stage performances, such as “One Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in 1977 and “A
Masque is still going strong as ever,
This fall it was “Judgment at Nuremberg”
playing four shows over three nights
to sold out audiences (see p. 15), and in
the spring, from April 11-13, “The Three
Musketeers” will take the stage in the
MPR.
Jesuit’s theatre program has been
bolstered by the addition of Theatre Arts
to the curriculum three years ago.
“For a number of students, the window
into acting they receive in the class helps
them realize that they can do it, and that
it’s not as terrifying as they might’ve
thought – so they go out on a limb and
audition,” said Richard Miller, Jesuit’s
Theatre Director. “Those students are
time actors not only for the audition, but
also for the rehearsal process, as they’ve
experienced the thought process behind
building a performance.”
The Theatre Arts class also ensures
Miller will have a staff working on the
various aspects of Masque productions
in the form of a “Theatre Practicum”
requirement.
“Each student must work on the show
in some capacity – acting, technical,
logistical, or design,” Miller said. “Even
some of our busiest students who have
able to make a meaningful contribution
to each semester’s show in this way.”
Miller also thinks the theatre course
#8059, its competitive performance
team that competes in District and State
competition.
Jesuit earned a school-record 13
Excellent ratings and record-tying
5 Superiors, with the Superiors all
qualifying for the State Festival this
duet acting. Arena and Buchanan’s
duet scene was selected as a Critic’s
Choice performance, earning them the
opportunity to perform in the Showcase
at the end of the event.
Last spring at the Florida State Thespian
Festival, Buchanan (monologues)
at State, while George Morgan ’18 (now
at the University of Central Florida), Jack
Mahoney ’18 (University of Chicago), and
Grammig all earned Excellent ratings.
It marked the fourth straight year Jesuit
had achieved an Excellent rating or
better at State, and Grammig was the
in an ensemble the previous year as a
freshman.
“Thespians taking the class are able to
receive additional one-on-one feedback
as they prepare their competition
performances,” Miller said. “Also, the
class has served as an introduction for
some new students to the Thespian
world, and many of the grading rubrics
Thespian festivals.”
The end result has been a renaissance
for a Jesuit theatre program with a
storied history and alumni making an
is in his 30th year on the faculty of
the Department of Theatre Arts at the
University of Iowa. He is co-head of
the Iowa Playwrights Workshop, one
of the country’s oldest and most highly
regarded Master of Fine Arts Programs
award-winning production designer
and he had a lead role in Masque’s “The
Merchant of Venice” his senior year.
THEATRE
Richard Miller, pictured with Cole Russo '21, said a
theatre component in the curriculm has boosted the
overall theatre program
As Wegmann glances up at the dozens of
a host of former students who excelled in
her program at Jesuit and pursued music
in some form in college and beyond, from
Vivero to Josh Hamilton ’16 (piano) to Se-
to Trent Watkins ’03 (violin) and many,
many more.
“Every year we have some graduates
Wegmann said. “And we have so many
graduates who pursue music careers, and
who come back to say hello.”
Carson Sutton ’18 came back to say hello
-
ect. Sutton, who earned Superior ratings
in competition on the clarinet while at
Jesuit, is now in the music program at the
University of South Florida. As part of an
assignment last fall, Sutton visited the
Jesuit music studio and created a video
documentary incorporating the Jesuit
band.
made their mark for decades, among them
John Pinckard ’94, a Tony Award-winning
Outstanding Young Alumnus by the
University of Florida.
As proud as Wegmann is of what the
program has accomplished, she is excited
about the possibilities of a new facility in a
few years.
“My dream is a full-sized symphony
orchestra, with 35 violins, violas, cellos,”
Wegmann said. “We’ve achieved a lot,
and I’m looking forward to doing more.”