by Kelsey Durnin | Feb 21, 2011 | News Slider
Three months after its opening, Ragtime and its cast are still receiving recognition. New director, Mike Fernandez, has revamped the drama department since his arrival. The theater department has grown from only three majors, four years ago, to over thirty current majors. This growth led to what senior American studies major from Memphis, Matt Raich, feels is safe to say “Lipscomb’s best and biggest production ever.” Seth Jones, a senior and vocal music education major from Rhodesdale, Md., says he is excited to see Lipscomb adding to its music-related programs. “After all, in Music City we should at least seek to be musically excellent,” Jones said. Ragtime featured a very large and diverse cast. Because of their exceptional performances, several actors and the entire production were nominated for various competitions. Tyler Ashley, a sophomore and musical theatre major from Nashville, and Caleb Pritchett, a junior and double acting and directing major from Franklin, Tenn., were both nominated for what Pritchett refers to as the “Heisman of college theater,” the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. As a part of this nomination, over 200 nominees competed in Tampa, Fla. Pritchett was also nominated for Best Actor in a Musical (Non-Professional) by Broadway World and came in third in the voting. “As an actor, when you can make someone feel a strong emotion, it makes you feel good and affirms that what you’re doing on stage has a purpose and the audience is actually getting something out of it,” Pritchett said. Raich and fellow Ragtime actor Luciano Vignola have also been recognized for their performances and will be attending the Southeastern Theatre Conference...
by Jake Morgan | Jun 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
This video contains brief segments of an interview with Mike Fernandez, chair of Lipscomb University’s Theater Department and Director of “Doubt.” This performance was done for the 2010 Christian Scholars’ Conference at Lipscomb University. Watch as Fernandez shares his story of pulling off an incredible show in front of award-winning playwright, John Patrick Shanley. Click to view the...
by Chris Shappley | Jun 7, 2010 | Opinion
Lipscomb had a unique opportunity last week to host the Christian Scholars Conference, during which scholars from all over the country descended upon the campus to hear panel discussions and speeches on theology, art, racism and many other topics. But what may have been the highlight of the conference was not a panel or speech, but a play. John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt has been performed on stages all over the country, and has even been turned into a major motion picture starring such masters as Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman. But last week, it was Lipscomb’s Mike Fernandez, chair of the Theater Department, who took the director’s role. Directing such a renowned play is probably trying, but when you add the fact that Shanley himself was in attendance for the opener, it’s obvious that it was a taxing — if rewarding — time for Fernandez. I’m happy to report that Doubt was performed without a hitch. And while the play was well directed and acted, the best part of the evening came after the curtain closed that first night. That’s when the talk-back began. Shanley and the cast and designers, including Fernandez, talked openly to audience about what the experience of putting on Doubt meant to them. The audience was able to ask questions, and most of them were directed towards Shanley. It was great to hear from Shanley how he took experiences from his childhood to help him write the play. In a moment of bluntness, Shanley tried to describe what it was like seeing his play being performed at Lipscomb. He said, in so many words,...
by Josh Fussell | Mar 3, 2010 | News Slider
I enjoy theater, but The Death of a Salesman was a new experience for me. Since the subject matter of this show is so dark, and it deals with such difficult situations, I was expecting to come out of there with a feeling of hopelessness and despair. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the experience of watching the show. As with any show, there are many questions within this one that the director and actors have had to answer to make the characters more realistic. In this production Linda was a very sympathetic character, who, even though she was enabling her husband’s delusions, made you feel sorry for her. The most intriguing choice made by the director of the show was to use alumni and faculty actors for many of the lead parts. Since the characters of this show are all older than the average college student, this decision is very easily justified. The experience of watching these seasoned actors portray their parts was a delight. One critique I would give would be for the cast not to smoke cigarettes on stage during the show. The cast was careful to use herbal cigarettes and made sure that the audience was aware that they were going to use them. Even so, I heard a few of the audience members complaining about the smell, and coughing during a scene in which one burned downstage in an ashtray. This alone was not much of an issue, but could discourage some patrons from attending. The only true problem I found was one of logistics. This production is being performed...
