While performing in his first official show as an MSU student, theatre freshman Mike Merluzzi had one goal in mind — to impress the faculty and establish a name for himself in the MSU Department of Theatre.
This year’s 8th annual Freshman Showcase provided Merluzzi and the other first year students in the theatre program with the opportunity to highlight their individual talents and prove what they are capable of in a performance setting.
" The overarching goal is for most of the faculty to step back and see what we can do on our own at this point in our careers, so they know what we are building off of, and what we can build onto,” Merluzzi said. “I really want to show how well I can work and have people say, ‘If he can bring this to a freshman showcase, what can he bring to a fully mounted season production?’”
Written and directed by Dionne O’Dell, instructor of arts and cultural management within the Department of Theatre, the play titled “Make Me Famous” portrays the consequences associated with the desire for fame and power. Merluzzi said each character in the play was assigned to two different students, which allowed the performance to highlight the versatility among the freshman class.
“I think one of the coolest things about the show is that we all come from different schools and teachings, so it’s a very unique blend. We are bringing a collaboration of different styles and techniques that we have learned previously before adopting the MSU style and approach,” Merluzzi said.
Aside from following the script and being assisted by O’Dell and other faculty members, the freshmen were given the freedom to design a large portion of the show on their own.
All of the students took on design positions in which they were responsible for coordinating different elements of the show including the set design, lighting, props, costumes and even the sound effects. Working as the head of the sound crew, theatre freshman Sidney Anderson said this creative freedom allowed them to personalize the show according to what they wanted to share with the theatre community.
“It was a very interesting opportunity because I feel like every element of theater was involved and whatever you wanted to display as your talent, you were able to,” she said.
Since many freshmen wanted to highlight their musical talents in addition to their acting skills, they also collaborated in selecting songs and poems that were performed between each scene of the play.
Anderson said this degree of collaboration allowed everyone to become acclimated with the dynamics of this new generation of theater students, while establishing new relationships.
“I think it really opened our eyes to who we will be working with for the next couple years of our lives,” she said. “It not only gets us excited for the future, but it gets everyone in the department excited for what they have to work with.”
