VOLUME 13, NO. 2     NOVEMBER 2000

The show never ends for Masque alumni

Although New Voices is often thought of as an outlet for student plays, this year's program included works by seven alumni playwrights. Many graduates participate in the annual festival as actors, directors and dramturgs. "Alumni have always contributed over the years," says Susan Vick, professor of drama/theatre, "but participation seems to have peaked this year. It's nice to know they are still writing and care to submit their work to us."

"Masque alumni never leave–they just stick around," says Dani LaBrecque '00, executive producer of New Voices 18. "New Voices is open to the entire WPI community, and if you love theatre, you'll never leave it."

Patrick Brennan '86 (Serve Cold) is a veteran of the first New Voices, in 1983, and has contributed to the festival over the years as a playwright, director and producer. A network 3-D game developer for MaK Technologies in Arlington, Mass., he posts some of his short stories and plays at http://world.std.com/~pbrennan/writings/index.html. Last February, Playwright's Platform in Boston hosted a reading of First Person Shooter–Brennan's full-length black comedy about the aftermath of a high school shooting.

Dean O'Donnell '86 (Monopoly) earned an M.F.A. in playwrighting at Brandeis University and returned to WPI as administrator of theatre and theatre technology and instructor of drama/theatre. He is on the board of directors of Centastage Performance Group and has worked with Coyote Theatre in Boston, Worcester's Foothills Theatre, the Double Image Theatre in New York City and various off-Broadway houses. "The theatre we do at WPI is as good, if not better, than anything out there in the 'real' world," he says. "I submit every year because as a playwright, I thrive on seeing my works produced, and I always enjoy seeing what the students do with my plays." Although O'Donnell might possibly hold the record for being produced in the greatest number of festivals, he defers to Tom Russell '95 as having the most plays produced in New Voices.

Morgan Rosenberg '95 (Sex, Death and Travel) has 13 productions to his credit–eight of which have been part of New Voices. Since graduation, he says he's been "sending my plays all over the country and hoping, begging and praying that someone will produce them." Sex, Death and Travel opened at the Tawes Theatre at the University of Maryland this summer. Rosenberg is employed as a Calvin Klein model or a University of Maryland physicist, depending on whom you ask.

Thomas Carr '96 (Standard Minivan Accessory Package) does his writing during lunch breaks from his structural engineering job with Modern Continental Construction in Cambridge, Mass. "I find that I write better when I'm hungry and disgruntled with my job," he says. By writing for New Voices, "I feel like I can still make a contribution, regardless of where I am geographically." His scripts can be found at www.gweep.net/~magnum/Plays.

Steven Siegmund '97 (Would You Like to Try a Super Combo?) got his feet wet in theatre in his freshman year, working backstage for New Voices. "When I first came to WPI," he says, "I never expected to find such a serious and dedicated contingent of students devoted to the arts." After graduation, Siegmund earned a master's degree in communication industries management at Emerson College and has done some radio and Web multimedia work. A business and systems analyst for Aperio Inc. in Natick, Mass., he sent his script to New Voices to stay connected to the theatre community and to contribute to the drama festival he loved so much. "Unlike some other college groups, you don't typically grow out of Masque," he explains. "Many of my good friends are well into their late 20s and continue to be involved."

Anthony Ball '99 and Dave Eaton '99, who both work at Interactive Data in Bedford, Mass., (Cheeze III: The Tale of the Twisted Twins) have submitted a total of six comedies to New Voices over the past four years. Their most recent contribution was written the day before the deadline, according to Ball. "I did most of my work at WPI in much the same manner." Adds Eaton, "Well, the ideas within the play preceded it by some time. I'd say the last-minute effort certainly reflects my experience at WPI!"

LaBrecque will join the ranks of alumni playwrights this fall when her opus The Doctor Is In will be performed on campus by M.W. Rep. She intends to keep writing and to join the many Masque alumni who reunite at New Voices performances each year. "I think of Masque as my fraternity," she says. "And New Voices is our homecoming."

–Joan Killough-Miller