by Mariah McGavin
This
summer at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, we have three young artists that are part
of our production team for SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE JERSEY LILY:
stage management interns Sydney Smith
and Krista Kanderski, and costume design assistant Veronica Vickas.
All three of them have uniquely awesome career goals, current studies, and
future projects, and I was lucky enough to sit down and discuss all of this,
plus what their past few weeks at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre have been like!
Mariah McGavin: First of all, what
are you currently studying in school, or working on outside of your academics?
Sydney Smith: Right now, I am a
theatre major with an emphasis in design and technology at the University of
Wisconsin-La Crosse. I also have a stage management minor and think often about
switching the major and minor.
Krista Kanderski: In the fall, I will
be a senior at Marquette University majoring in Sociology and minoring in
Theatre Arts; Biology; and Culture, Health & Illness. At the moment, I work
at the library on campus, I’m an overhire stagehand at SLWCA, I freelance stage
manage on the side, I’m an intern at the Milwaukee Health Department - STI
Unit, and in the fall, I’ll be an intern in Congresswoman Gwen Moore’s
Milwaukee office.
Veronica Vickas: I am currently
attending Carthage College in Kenosha as a Psychology and Costume Design double
major. In the fall I will be starting my senior year, which means the start of
applying to a million and one different theatres’ costume shops.
MM: How did you get your
start in theatre, and what made you decide to pursue it? Do you have any
particular inspirations/turning points?
SS: I decided in 8th
grade that acting wasn’t really for me, so I switched to doing crew for The
Little Mermaid Jr. and have been doing the backstage stuff since. What
actually made me decide to pursue theatre was really a combination of things.
It was just something I always enjoyed and poured all of my free time into. I
had a teacher in high school that really helped me realize that pursing theatre
wasn’t some crazy thing that isn’t realistic and basically said: If you like
theatre, do it; the worst thing that will happen is you just stop and do
something else later. I think another turning point would be stage
managing LES MISERABLES my
senior year (of high school). That was a really amazing experience, but once I
made it to college I found there were a lot of pieces missing from the stage
management position at my high school. We would help with build and take on
more of an assistant technical director position and then go on to call the
show, as opposed to sitting in on rehearsals.
KK: The stage has always
been a large part of my life: I used to act as a young child, dance with the
Milwaukee Ballet School, and play in the orchestra, amongst other things. After
12 years of dancing, I walked away in order to gain some freedom and join various
high school clubs. During my freshman year, my orchestra stand partner and
longtime friend, mentioned that she had the perfect role in the theatre for me.
She told me day in and day out about how I needed to simply give stage
management a chance, and by the time the spring musical rolled around - I gave
in. At intermission, she snuck me into the sound closet to see our high
school’s production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and I got to discover the magic of
an entire backstage world that I had never noticed. The next fall, I joined
stage crew, and the year after that I became a stage manager. I have been head
over heels ever since.
VV: Theatre and
performing has always had a special place in my heart but it was not something
I thought could be turned into a viable career option. Despite all the analytic
logic I had against being a theatre major, I could not deny something that was
so fundamental in shaping me as a person. In making that decision to pursue a
career in acting is how I found my true love, which is costume design. It was
decidedly the most significant turning point of my theatre career.
MM: How did your
relationship with MCT start?
SS: My relationship with
MCT started with this production!
KK: Growing up in the community, I’ve seen several
shows from MCT,and I have also had several friends who were Stage Management
Interns. After hearing about how wonderful the team at MCT was to work with
from both my friends and Marquette faculty, I applied for the internship, and
now here I am.
VV: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE JERSEY LILY is
the start of my relationship with MCT! The people here are so amazing that I
hope it is a relationship that lasts a lifetime. I have to give all the credit
to Kim Instenes for introducing me to this lovely bunch.
MM: What have these past
couple weeks at MCT been like?
SS: These past weeks have
been great! I’m learning a lot about how real professional productions run as
opposed to ones in an educational setting. My favorite parts so far I think
have been watching the actors develop the show and seeing the pieces of the
production fall in place as they find things that work for the show. I also
like developing what the show will have to look like when it is in the theatre
space, thinking about the pieces we will have to move, and starting to develop
paperwork that will help everything run smoothly.
KK: The past couple weeks
at MCT have been a blast. It is an absolute joy to be in the room with a group
of talented, hilarious, and big-hearted actors, directors, stage managers,
designers, etc. It is so lovely to be surrounded by genuinely good people.
VV: As assistant costume
designer, I unfortunately do not get to spend most of my time at MCT. When I am
there, it is bound to be a wonderful, fun-filled day. My favorite experience
has been being able to been part of costume fittings and seeing how having
their costume helps the actor further develop their character’s physicality.
MM: What are you looking
forward to the most during this experience?
SS: I’m looking forward
to getting into tech and seeing how that will run and fall together. I also am
looking forward to getting into performances!
KK: During this
experience, I am looking forward to making connections and building relationships
VV: I look forward to
working with professionals. I already see what a difference there is between
college theatre and professional theatre.
MM: What do you hope to
gain or take away from this experience?
SS: I hope to gain a
better understanding of how professional theatres run and operate, and get more
experience designing paperwork that gets used in the run of a show.
KK: I am hoping to gain
new stage management skills and paperwork experience that I can apply in my
future endeavors.
VV: I hope to take away a
deeper understanding of what it means to be a costume designer in the
professional theatre world. I wish to learn all the nuances of professional
theatre that just cannot be taught, despite the best efforts of my professors.
MM: Do you have any
current projects you're working on or about to pursue that you're excited
about?
SS: Next season at my University I’ll be doing
a lot of design work which I am both excited and terrified by. The one that is
coming up most quickly is THE
LARAMIE PROJECT, which I am projection designing in the
fall.
KK: As we wrap up this
show, I’ll begin stage managing LITTLE WOMEN, directed by Lenny Banovez, and in
January, I’ll begin stage managing IMAGE OF AN UNKNOWN YOUNG WOMAN, directed by
Debra Krajec, both at Marquette University.
VV: Currently, I am in
the process of costume designing my senior thesis, MARIE ANTOINETTE at Carthage. I am VERY excited
about this project. The script offers rich characters, and a fun eccentric
period. This show is just about every costume designer’s dream!
MM: What are your hopes
for the future in terms of your career?
SS: I just hope to work
in theatre, consistently enough to do it full time, and still live comfortably.
Perhaps even become a professor to teach theatre later as well.
Become a stage manager.
KK: I
hope to one day join Actors’ Equity as a stage manager and be the Production
Manager of a theater. Quite honestly though, my only hope at this point is that
I’ll be prepared for what comes next - I’ve got a lot of open doors between
theatre and public health, so we’ll see where life takes me.
VV: Ideally I would love
to continue work as a costume designer, really to keep exploring the field of
costumes as a whole. Then after a few years of being in the field I would love to
go back to school and get my master’s in costume design.
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