The curtain rises, and lights dim and the magic begins at Northern Essex Community College. I had the privilege of sitting down with the marvelous Theater Professor Brianne Beatrice.
Not only is she a Professor here at NECC, but her students rave about her, Kiersten Lowe, a student of Beatrice’s said
Brianne’s courses have given her confidence and taught her never to give up, saidLowe. An aspiring lawyer, she noted that these courses would prepare her greatly for her future career. Lowe also stated “she has found a passion for theater. She has taken several courses Beatrice instructs, includin g “improv, voice and movement, acting theory, and public speaking.”
Skylar Hiort, another student who has taken Beatrice’s public speaking course as well as her acting theory class said:
“That experience was so wonderful I knew I had to take her acting theory class,” Hiort explained “These courses really teach you about yourself. You learn how to advocate for yourself, how to build confidence in yourself, and of course how to speak in front of a crowd. Not only will these skills help me further my teaching career, but they will also aid me in my day-to-day life!”
Hiort shares that “These courses really teach you about yourself. You learn how to advocate for yourself, how to build confidence in yourself, and of course how to speak in front of a crowd. Not only will these skills help me further my teaching career, but they will also aid me in my day-to-day life!”I
In my personal experience, I had the privilege of being in her Acting: Theory and Practice course as well as her public speaking and directing course.
Her classes have helped me gain confidence in all my courses, Beatrice fosters an amazing “you’ve got this attitude” and she instills that within her students.
NECC theater will soon be putting on The Vagina Monologues, which is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler.
The play will be performed at NECC May 8th at 4 pm, May 9th at 7 p.m., with special guest NECC President Lane Glenn attending, May 10th at 7 pm, and Sunday, May 11th at 2 pm which is a special Mother’s Day performance.
The play explores consensual and nonconsensual sexual experiences, body image, direct and indirect encounters with reproduction, vaginal care, menstrual periods, prostitution, and several other topics through the eyes of women of various ages, races, sexualities, and other differences
The New York Times called the play “probably the most important piece of political theater of the last decade.” Beatrice told me that the play “is starring NECC Theater’s National Award-winning actor Mirrorajah Metcalfe, “who was awarded alternate to the winner and won ‘Best Classical Actor’ for her hilarious interpretation of Petruchio from Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew with her scene partner Ana Barrera,” and featuring NECC students Maggie Evans, Jenny Ngo, and Naima Eve. The play is directed by Beatrice.
Metcalfe’s awards follow NECC Theater’s13-time award-winning production of “Hurricane Diane”, from the Kennedy Center in April of 2024, which was selected to remount and present the production last year and was also performed at The Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport Mass.
I had the privilege to attend one of the productions and it was truly a life-changing experience, the power and chemistry of the cast were inspiring.
Professor Beatrice was thrilled to express her excitement for the upcoming fall production “Circle Mirror Transformation” by Annie Baker.
“The play traces the lives of a handful of small-town Vermont residents who gather each week for an acting class taught at the local community center” a quote from https://www.dramatists.com explains.
This piece will star Devin Michaud as James, Benjamin Swanney as Schultz, and Ana Barrera as Lauren. There will be auditions for Theresa and Marty this May,
Beatrice encourages students who are interested to follow NECC Theater on Instagram for more information on when auditions will be held. I asked Beatrice what plays she would like to direct here at NECC and she was incredibly excited to say “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, “The Goat or Who Is Silvia” by Edward Albee and a musical, “Into The Woods” by James Lapine.
Beatrice offers several courses and anyone at any skill level can join these courses, I have enjoyed her classes greatly and have benefited from them in so many wayss.
Some offered courses for the upcoming Fall Semester are Intro to Theater, Acting Scene Study and Improvistion Voice and Movement.
“Intro To Theater, an online course, this course has two general goals it teaches students the contemporary theatrical world: playwright, producer, theater structure, director, actor, technicians, and designers.”
This course also “study plays as the basis of theater by reading and analyzing dramatic literature in class, and to attend performances.” Acting Scene Study focuses on “ in-depth scene and monologue study emphasizing character development and script analysis. Various acting techniques will be discussed and utilized. Course objectives will center on the ability of the students to overcome fears and barriers, the development of confidence in public performance, and the ability to make creative choices.”
Improv voice and movement teaches “the actor’s instruments are the voice and the body. Improvisation, Voice, and Movement will isolate these areas to increase the student actors’ awareness and to improve their ability to use their voices and bodies.
Building on this increased awareness, the student will learn the rudiments of mime and improvisation. The ultimate goal of the course is for the students to be able to work together to create improvised scenes in front of an audience.”
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