Beyond Character

UMW Theatre plays best supporting role

Cinderella had just learned life is not a fairy tale. Her happily-ever-after marriage wasn·t. A vengeful giant, still on the loose, had killed the Baker’s wife. And the grief-stricken Baker had entrusted his baby to Cinderella. Much to her relief, the Baker returned. He reached for his child, cradled in the arms of the princess. Suddenly, with a few words from nearby, the scene from Into the Woods stopped. On this October Friday night, the UMW Department of Theatre & Dance production rehearsed in a makeshift space in a storefront in Fredericksburg’s Eagle Village shopping center. Director Gregg Stull ’82, professor and department chair, kept a keen eye on the action. Their Nov. 1 premiere of the popular Sondheim musical was less than a month away. “Wait, wait, wait,” Stull called. He walked into a large rectangle outlined with tape on the floor. It marked the dimensions of the Klein Theatre stage, where Talking With, the first show of the 2012-2013 season, had just … [Read more...]