— Aquila Theatre, a New York-based company dedicated to bringing great dramatic works to audiences nationwide, has chosen Western Connecticut State University as the site for its rehearsal and debut of the troupe’s fall 2015 touring production of William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Romeo and Juliet.”
The Aquila company has forged a collaboration this year with the university’s Visual and Performing Arts Center (VPAC) and Department of Theatre Arts to conduct rehearsals and technical preparations at Western for its innovative interpretation of the Shakespeare classic, which will debut at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, in the MainStage Theatre of the VPAC on the WCSU Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury. Aquila Theatre also will utilize the VPAC’s state-of-the-art rehearsal and performance facilities to prepare its touring production of “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes,” which will be presented at WCSU in January.
The professional cast of “Romeo and Juliet” will be directed by Desiree Sanchez, Aquila’s artistic director since 2011 and a professional choreographer whose extensive dance career includes her tenure as a principal dancer for 20 years for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in New York. Following the Danbury debut, Aquila will take the production on the road to communities in 10 states in the East, Midwest and West stretching from Pennsylvania to Montana.
Ticket information for the WCSU performance of “Romeo and Juliet” at the VPAC may be obtained by calling (203) 837-8732 or online at www.eventbrite.com/e/aquila-theatre-in-william-shakespeares-romeo-and-juliet-tickets-17832895671
Professor Pamela McDaniel, chair of the WCSU Theatre Arts Department, observed that she and Professor of Theatre Arts Sal Trapani made their first contact seven years ago with the Aquila company to discuss opportunities for collaboration. McDaniel had been impressed by the New York company’s daring approach — with each actor prepared to perform any of the leading roles — when she viewed an earlier Aquila presentation of “Romeo and Juliet” at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where Trapani directed a WCSU student cast in a rock-and-roll adaptation of the Shakespeare tragedy.
The possibility of an Aquila project at WCSU was discussed several times in the intervening years before the New York company’s overture this spring bore fruit — in part thanks to the 2014 opening of the VPAC with stage and practice infrastructure rivaling the most technically sophisticated New York theatres.
“We have always had the superior faculty and student talent in our theatre arts program,” VPAC Coordinator Sarah Renninger said, “but now we have the building to reflect the quality of our productions and our faculty. That has enabled us to bring in this professional theatre company, both for the educational benefit of our students and for the cultural enrichment of the entire community in the Danbury area.”
“The VPAC provides superior rehearsal space that you wouldn’t typically find in New York, where rehearsals generally take place in a building separate from the theatre,” McDaniel said. “Here we have the whole package of leading-edge technical offerings in our rehearsal and performance space, all in the same facility.”
McDaniel emphasized the educational benefits that WCSU theatre arts students will draw from the opportunity to observe first-hand the work of a professional New York theatrical company in staging a production of a Shakespeare play. She noted that all juniors and seniors in the WCSU theatre arts program will participate in a Shakespeare workshop conducted by members of the Aquila company, and Western students also will assist with technical support for the production, including Brionna Ingraham as assistant stage manager.
“This interaction with a professional company provides an important confirmation that what we are teaching our students will be applied in the real world,” McDaniel remarked. Performance in a touring production is a typical entry for Western graduates into the profession, she added. “Our students will have the chance to gain insight into what a career in theatre really looks like and to recognize that entering the field takes many different avenues — it’s not just about making it to Broadway.”
“It’s important to get a feel for what it’s like to be part of a touring company and to perform before different types of audiences,” Renninger said.
For the past 16 years, Aquila Theatre has been a leading producer of touring classical theatre, visiting approximately 50 to 60 communities in the United States each year to present two major productions. Past productions featured on tour and at New York sites including the Brooklyn Academy of Music have included a wide range of plays from classic Shakespearean and Greek drama as well as contemporary works. Under the program direction of founder Peter Meineck, Aquila has been the theatrical company in residence at the Center for Ancient Studies at New York University. Established as a nonprofit organization, Aquila also conducts an extensive outreach program of theatrical workshops, master classes and other forms of educational enrichment offered at schools and universities in New York City as well as communities where Aquila tours.
McDaniel noted the WCSU collaboration with Aquila is part of a continuing initiative by the Theatre Arts Department to take advantage of the university’s proximity to the vibrant cultural center of New York by building relationships in theatre circles. Last year Western theatre students performed as the featured choir in a production of playwright David Grieg’s “The Events” at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, and they performed the same role in the play this spring at the New York Theatre Workshop in New York City.
“These relationships with outside professional groups offer an important enhancement to our educational program,” she said. “It’s very exciting for us to have Aquila here, and this year we’ll be exploring what the nature of our relationship will be in the future.”
Renninger said the spirit of educational and artistic collaboration underlying the Aquila project at WCSU is consistent with the similar theme of collaborative work that the university seeks to inspire among art, music and theatre students who share the same building. The extensive and diverse program of events in the visual and performing arts scheduled at the VPAC during the 2015-16 academic year reflects the dynamic results of that collaboration, she added.
“Last year was a time for getting comfortable in this setting, and this is the year for beginning to discover all that we can do here at the center,” she said. “This will surely bring huge benefits for our students.”
For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.