This interview has been edited for clarity and readability.
We recently chatted with Northern Essex Theater Coordinator, Brianne Beatrice. Check out the interview below!
Shaun Hood: Before we get into what comes next for NECC Theater, I just want touch on the recognition from the Kennedy Center that you and your students have been receiving recently, as well as another great run of “Hurricane Diane.” First of all, to quote Rita Moreno, congratulations on your tour de force! I also know that it was recently made known that Mirrorajah Metcalfe won a national award. What do you have to say regards to Mirrorajah’s award, and really just looking back at that journey as a whole from this past year?
Brianne Beatrice: “Hurricane Diane” has been an unbelievable process and journey. Having done the show now three times, originally back a year ago in the spring, and then having submitted that production to the Region One American College Theater Festival, and it being selected as one of the top six shows in the region. The region spans Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York. I was really, really proud of that show and they performed it at Region One. It was highly received by the audience and by the responders from the Kennedy Center. Then, we came back, we performed a revival of the production at the top of the semester, and we recently found out that Mirrorajah won Outstanding Actor in a performance, being in the top three in the country. So, all eight regions, only three actors were recognized in the country, and Mirrorajah was one of them with her performance as Diane in “Hurricane Diane.” It’s amazing. I am absolutely elated. I feel that her win is a win for the entire production as a whole, and her being the leader of that show.
SH: It’s also a win for the college, pushing the arts at NECC! Is there a showcase coming up for any of your current semester classes? If yes, tell us about it!
BB: Yeah, we always do a showcase at the end of the semester. It’ll be in early May. I’ll do a showcase for the directing class, and we’ll do a showcase for acting theory and practice.
The directing showcase will be a variety of scenes directed by, starring the students in the directing class. For the Acting Theory and Practice class, there will be a combination of both scenes and two contrasting monologues, which is what they learned throughout course, and they’ll be presenting that to the audience.
SH: I know that Summer Theater is coming up, and it seems to be a fan favorite among lots of students. As for students here at the college who are looking to fulfill some credit requirements over the summer, why should they take summer theater?
BB: Summer Theater is a wonderful class that focuses on script analysis and understanding how to put a show together. So, what we do is we begin the process of learning, acting, and then also delving into a specific play that I will choose, and then teaching the students how we begin the process of concept work, design work, and basically, how to put a show together, what it means from beginning to end. How do we go from a script all the way to lights, costumes, the entire performance, and the audience? That’s what Summer Theater is. It’s a really fun, exciting time, and I hope that many students will join me for summer theater starting next month.
SH: I know you love “Wednesday” on Netflix. Obviously, a lot of people do too, but what’s your perspective on Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams and the series’ first season both in terms of “Addams Family” lore, and an artistic perspective?
BB: That’s an interesting question! I love Jenna Ortega. I thought she was wonderful in the show. I think she’s a fantastic actor, and I love “The Adams Family.” I loved the original, and I like it even more that she’s in it. I thought she brought a really interesting take to the role that has sort of launched her career. I also think that Ana Barrera – who was in “Hurricane Diane” – resembles her.
SH: Do you have a favorite Broadway show? Is there anything at all that you want to say about any recent Broadway happenings that you know of?
BB: Actually, last week I saw my best friend, Jay Carey, is the PSM, which is the production stage manager for the show, “Company,” currently in Boston. His husband, Christopher Deangelis, is actually in the show and I saw the production and it is absolutely riveting. I was aghast watching this performance. It’s still in Boston right now at the Opera House. So, if anybody’s interested in seeing “Company” by Stephen Sondheim, it is a really, really, really solid production.
SH: I’m not an actor, but I love the arts because movies and TV and stage shows make me feel! I’m also just really fascinated by Broadway and movies and the entertainment industry as a whole.
Most recently, I really enjoyed learning about the Broadway musical, “How to Dance in Ohio,” and its autistic cast members who played autistic characters, and now its Autism Acceptance Month! Sadly, How to Dance in Ohio closed after only a few months on Broadway, and I was not able to attend a performance. However, since the show started getting promoted on national news on TV around the time when it opened on Broadway, I have been much more comfortable about talking about me being on the Autism Spectrum. Not everyone who knows that I’m on the spectrum also knows of “How to Dance in Ohio, “but I still feel recognized in watching the interviews with the cast and crew as well as clips from the show.
As a college professor, what is your perspective on representation on the stage?
BB: I think that theater is a means to heal, to change, to inspire people, and to grow more comfortable with who we are. It’s humanity in its essence! I love representation on the stage. I love that this vehicle can help people understand humanity and where we are, and who we are, and different cultures, different races, different people, and different communities. I think that that is one of the greatest things that theater can contribute to an audience and to help an audience understand topics or grow to understand themselves more as a means of watching a production.
SH: Is there anything that you’re working on or that NECC Theater has coming up that you’d like our readers to know about?
BB: Yes. I absolutely want everybody to know that “Hurricane Diane” is going on a tour! It will be released, more dates will be released, but we have collaborated with Merrimack Repertory Theatre. At the end of June, Hurricane Diane will perform, NECC Theatre will collaborate with Merrimack Repertory Theater. NECC Theatre will also collaborate with the Firehouse in Newburyport in October, where they also picked up Hurricane Diane.
In a week or so, Mirrorajah Metcalfe and I, again, we’re going to DC to get her award, her recognition at the Kennedy Center. At the beginning of May, there will be auditions for our fall NECC production, which will be a play called Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker. Please take a look out for those audition dates. Follow us @necctheatre on Instagram for all the information that you need.
