|
By
Karl Erikson
This
year, Dennis Russo has stepped into the spotlight as a new, full-time
professor of theater at Raritan Valley Community College. But he has been
preparing for this role here for much of his life.
Russo,
who has moved up from an adjunct teacher to fill the shoes of the recently
retired Stan Kopit, graduated from RVCC in 1995 with an AA in liberal
arts, theater option, following his days at North Hunterdon High School.
Now,
Russo is directing one of the two student plays for the fall semester.
It is an all-out comedy entitled “Psycho Beach Party,” which
is a goofy spoof on the 1960s surfer movies (see above story).
Asked
what the students can learn from a comedy like this, he replied: “Most
of the students at RVCC are beginning actors. The vast majority are just
starting out, but even if you’ve been doing it, the one thing about
acting and most things is that the more you do it the better you are going
to get at it. So the general answer is that it doesn’t matter what
you do as long as you’re doing something.
However,
Russo also emphasizes how challenging comedy can be, especially one as
“blatant” as Psycho Beach Party. “Comedy is hard work,”
he says. “It depends so much on the audience. With a drama, if things
aren’t going well you may not notice it. You will sense it, but
it won’t be obvious. With a comedy, it’s all about the audience
laughing. If they aren’t laughing, it makes for a long night, and
as an actor it takes a tremendous amount of discipline to not let that
ruin you and to keep on keeping on. It’s tough.” He went on
to say, “So, if we have a bad night the students will learn about
commitment. If we have a good night, they’ll learn about how much
an audience can carry them as performers.”
Next
semester, Theater Production will contrast the comedy with a drama. “If
students get cast in both shows they will finish this year having tackled
a comedy and drama. That’s a great year in terms of artistic growth,”
Russo said.
Russo’s
own artistic growth took him to Montclair State following his studies
at RVCC. He graduated from there in 1997 with a BA in Speech and Theatre,
then went on to audition for the New School in New York City. He was accepted
and graduated in 2001 with a MFA in Theatre/Acting.
From
there, he auditioned for the legendary Actors Studio. Of 150 applicants,
the Actors Studio accepts 10-12 people, and Russo was one of them. For
those who don’t know the Actors Studio, this is quite an achievement.
When you get into the Actors Studio, you are a lifetime member.
Russo
has recently written a play, “Saving the Theatre,” that he
works on through the Actors Studio. “It is a dark comedy about a
retired hockey player who kidnaps a paraplegic playwright and forces him
to write a play, claiming it will ‘save the theater.’ Russo
explains “Basically, it’s a twisted revenge play. And it is
still being worked out.”
In
getting “worked out,” it’s actually gone from a four-person
to a two-person play, he said, and they are currently rehearsing, under
the direction of Louise Lasser, on Fridays and Saturdays in New York.
“She’s incredible,” Russo said, adding that the re-write
of the play will be presented as a reading on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at
the Actors Studio.
As
a member of the Actors Studio, Russo gets great feedback from other professionals
who come to watch. He is also working on a new play “about two failing
jazz musicians who can only book high school assembly gigs. It’s
about talent versus passion.”
Asked
what he sees in his future here at Raritan Valley, Russo said he would
like to write a play to be staged here on our very own campus.
|
