A Family Affair: One student’s experience with Cabrini Theater

By Arielle Friscia
March 16, 2010

When walking through Grace Hall usually around 7 p.m. this past semester, you probably heard singing voices. No, it is not the Cabrini ghost. It’s actually the Cabrini College Theatre preparing for the show that opens tonight “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

For two months, the cast and crew have been preparing themselves to put on to what we believe to be of the best shows that we have done. The show we are going to perform tonight is fun, comedic and marvelous for anyone sitting in the 90 seats that we have in the theater. Yes, I said 90 seats, even though most of you are probably saying  “You fit 90 seats in THAT theater?!” I know; I’m still trying to believe it as well, but it was done.

We have spent our nights and weekends in the theater preparing for this show. Everyone has been preparing this show and, to be honest with you, we are ready to show everyone what we are capable of. To me, the acting, the music and the singing seems fantastic. But I’m no expert in that department. I’m sure as long as I’m not singing then it will sound great!

From a stage crew member’s perspective, I can tell you this has been one of the best sets we have ever had. The crew likes to always surprise the audience with something different. For “12 Angry Jurors,” we were able to make it rain in the theater. With “Once on this Island” we had thunder in the show, and it wasn’t recorded. Those of you who have been here for the past couple of years might remember the “Laramie Project” and the turning walls that led into the scene where the reporters began their coverage of the Matthew Shepard case. It was the first and last time I hope to make it out on the stage. The stage fright gets to me and sometimes I can’t even imagine what goes through an actor’s mind before going on stage.

Since I walked into the theater as a timid freshman, I have seen this club come a long way.  I saw the walls in the back of the theater be knocked down. I’ve seen the pipes above your seats shine the light onto the stage. We have grown into more than anyone could have expected, and more than most people know. We are doing so much more than physical changes; we are a theater company who have put heart and dedication into building our home. The theater was the first place that opened their doors to me when I came in as a freshman. Ever since then, most of the people who have joined our company have become my family.

Tonight is an exciting night for all of us and even for you as an audience. When you come to the theater tonight we will be backstage or sitting by the light board and the sound board probably nervous as hell. But that doesn’t change the fact that we are so excited to be able to show you all what we have been working on.

A lot of what we have done could not have been done without Dr. Stretton, Bob Iodice, Dr. Bethany, Dr. Filling, Mike Hartmann, Joe Urbanik and Rob Stoop. This outstanding group of people have been planning this show since the summer and picking out how the set would look, how the music will sound, what the dancing would look like and even how will the lighting look. Without this group of people we probably wouldn’t have a musical to show every year.

Tonight, or any night that you come to see the show we want you to have a good time. When you walk out of the theater, we hope that you are entertained to the fullest. I know the cast, the crew and the orchestra will be having a great time watching the show for about the millionth time. So ladies and gentleman, sit back and relax, get your spelling faces on and enjoy “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

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Arielle Friscia

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