Exclusive Q & A with Will Porter, Muhlenberg alumni and writer of "Hatching," which premieres at Fringe NYC this Friday.
1. When and where did you start writing "Hatching"?
I began writing “Hatching” my junior year as an assignment for my Experiments in Acting Class. We were told to write a scene in the style of Beckett and/or Pinter. That's how I wrote the first scene of the show. I wrote another scene for the show in my Commedia class, same professor. I've been working on it ever since. Thanks, Francine!
2. What inspired you to write the play?
Many many many things. The whole national health care issue – a central theme of "Hatching" – has been bubbling for a while, and now with the current administration beginning to address it, it's finally starting to boil over. Everyone has a health care story... and they have all inspired me as I write this absurd play about an absolutely absurd issue. Michael Moore helped a little bit too... but he tends to be a little bit biased!
3. Why did you want to stage "Hatching" at Fringe NYC 2009?
I was involved with the Fringe last summer, and since that play was really bad, I figured "Hatching" could get in, because I think it's at the very least PRETTY GOOD. The Fringe is also a great place to start for emerging artists - actors, playwrights, directors, you name it. It's messy, raw, low budget, clip-light-tastic theatre.
4. Did the play change as the actors and directors began rehearsals? If so, how?
Absolutely. Everybody has a different idea about how the show should look, sound, and feel. It's exciting to see people interpret your work differently than you imagined it on the page. The biggest change the play underwent was having the leading lady played by a man. And it actually works better! Go figure.
5. What's next for Will Porter?
I'm off to Lancaster PA to perform in "Hello, Dolly!" at the Fulton Theatre! And sadly, I have to miss most of the performances of "Hatching." It's good to be busy. But sometimes it's sad.
George Psomas '05 performs in the ensemble of the award-winning Lincoln Center Theater revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. The cast is lead by two-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara as Nellie Forbush and Paulo Szot as Emile de Becque with Matthew Morrison as Lt. Cable, Danny Burstein as Luther Billis and Loretta Ables Sayre as Bloody Mary and is directed by Bartlett Sher. The new production of the groundbreaking, Pulitzer-honored South Pacific by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II has received rave reviews and continues on stage through the fall season.
Frankie Grande'05 continues performing in the New York cast of MAMMA MIA! as Ensemble, Eddie u/s in NYC. He received his equity card on Dora the Explorer Live!, playing Boots, the monkey all over the US and Canada, including at Radio City Music Hall and on the Today Show. He won the title of "Mr. Broadway." Will Porter '08 is joining the national tour of Bye Bye Birdie following an appearance as the Artful Dodger in the Media Theatre's production of Oliver! Ashley Wallace '08 is also performing in a national tour in Oliver!, playing the female swing for every female role except Nancy. Erica Cenci '06 is performing in the national tour of Cats this season.
Michael Biren‘08 is currently in Manila, Philippines rehearsing for the International Tour of Cinderella starring Tony Award winner Lea Salonga. Over the next nine months, he will be touring througout the Philippines, several cities in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Qatar, Korea, and possibly Japan. Dany Guy '08 is currently performing in the Philadelphia-based Enchantment Theatre Company for the 2009 national tour of The Velveteen Rabbit. This musical version of the tale uses puppets, masked actors and magic and is set to an original score by Grammy and Tony Award-winning composer Don Sebesky and award-winning lyricist Gloria Nissenson.
Jenny Peters '05 toured with the National Tour of 42nd Street and is now working at Broadway in the Dells, a new theater in WI.Matthew Micucci '04 is a working actor in Los Angeles and co-starred on an episode of WB's "What I Like About You."
DANCE
Madeline Hoak '05 is a member of the DANIEL GWIRTZMAN DANCE COMPANY in New York City. She is also a dance/theatre educator for Young Dancers in Repertory, a Brooklyn-based arts organization which provides professional training and fosters growth and communication through dance. Courtney Romano '06 played Lois Lane/Bianca in the Glimmerglass Opera Company's production of Cole Porter's Kiss Me Kate at the Glimmerglass Opera Theatre in Cooperstown, New York in 2008 She will be appearing in 42nd Street at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, MA.Jessica Warchal-King '05 is a graduate student in Dance Performance and Choreography at Temple University, she has been awarded a Teaching Assistantship for the 2008-2009 academic year. Emily Eger '02 is choreographing in a showcase for emerging female choreographers from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York at the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. Performance will incorporate sculptural elements in the park and in the Seward Johnson Center for the Arts.
Tracey Dunn ‘08 is currently dancing with the Alchemy Dance Company in Philadelphia, a contemporary jazz company. She is also modeling and has just finished a catalog shoot for Vera Bradley due out Spring 2009. Daniel X. Guy‘08 is a cast member of Enchantment Theatre's touring children's show The Velveteen Rabbit. Jenny Piersol‘08 recently finished a run of 42nd Street with the Ocean City Theatre Company in cooperation with the Ocean City Pops Orchestra. Liz J. Millea'07 just finished playing Maria in The Sound of Music, and she also recently finished doing a children's show called Snowderella at Circa '21 Dinner Theatre. She begins doing The Full Monty in September, which runs through November, in which she will be playing Susan Hershey. Liz is still Bootlegging at Circa '21 when not in shows. This summer, she taught at three different summer workshops for theatre and dance around the area. Ashleigh Edwards '06 is teaching dance and choreographing for Linda Jan's Studio of Dance in West Long Branch, NJ and Academy of Dance in Point Pleasant, NJ. She is also the assistance program director at Camp Sacajawea in Farmingdale, NJ. She completed an internship with Tiffany Mills in 2007. Lori Wilson '05 is currently dancing with modern dance companies Miki Liszt Dance Company, UpRooted Dance Theatre Co., R Squared, and inFlux Dance and is teaching for a dance studio in Charlottesville, VA. Kristyn Brady '05 will be joining the east coast tour of Sesame Street Live: Super Grover Ready for Action! She plans to enter grad school in the fall of 2007. More dance alum news....
THEATRE, FILM & TELEVISION
Rachel Shapiro performed in the world premiere of Paula Vogel's new play A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS at the Long Wharf Theatre.Directed by Tina Landau, the new musical by Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel intertwines many lives in the Lincoln White House on a cold Christmas Eve. John Speredakos is a professional actor in theatre, film, and television who graduated with an M.F.A. from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University; his film credits include: The Roost, Wendigo, Rules of Engagement, School Ties. TV credits: Brewster Place , Return to Lonesome Dove, Sirens, Kojak, Law and Order, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Broadway and National Tour Credits: A View From the Bridge, Death of a Salesman. Chris Scheer has performed lead roles in two new off-broadway plays, entitled Takura and Frost, with New York Circus Arts. After building the largest circus arts program on the east coast, and launching the first certificate-granting Professional Training Program in the country, NYCAA is presened its first feature length production with Takura: A Contemporary Circus Faerie Tale. Created and directed by NYCAA founder Cypher Zero, this unique theatrical circus extravaganza tells the story of a loyal creature's journey through the underworld and incorporates tumbling, juggling, physical comedy, and otherworldly acrobats. Águeda Ramírez recently performed in City Attic Theatre's production of Jose Rivera's Marisol at Medicine Show, NYC, directed by Dianna Marino. Agueda has been doing production and marketing work with HiFF, The Harlem Jazz Concert Festival, Casa Frela Gallery, and community service work in Uptown Manhattan.
Lanie MacEwan continues her professional acting career in New York and in regional theatres. She made her Denver Center debut in Lisa Loomer's Living Out; her New York credits include Rexie Gordon (photo) opposite Tony Award-winner John Rubinstein in the Off-Broadway production of Elmer Rice's Counsellor-At Law with the Peccadillo Theater Company (2005 Lucille Lortel Award Winner); Bridget (u/s) in Give Me Your Answer Do! with the Roundabout Theater; Amy in Victor Kahn's Fit to Kill at the Clurman Theatre, and Portia in The Merchant of Venice with the Revolving Shakespeare Company. She completed her M.F.A. in Acting at Rutgers University.
Justis Bolding is playing Sarah Roberts on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live. The character of Sarah is the daughter of Cord Roberts and Tina Clayton Lord, well-known characters from OLTL history. she completed a demo recording for a new musical, Swimming Upstream, where she performed the role of Sally Jo. Justis has also appeared in New York at the Lincoln Center Director's Lab, American Theatre of Actors, Wings, Riant, and Inverse Theatres. A member of the Harbor Theatre Company, she has appeared on the American TV series 7th Heaven (2005) and on-camera in commercials, industrials, and independent films as well as MTV's Undressed (2002). When not acting, Justis spends her time working with dogs and is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. SAG AFTRA.
Anthony Azizi returned to Primetime television in the recurring role of Omar in ABC's award-winning drama Lost last season and appears in the movie thriller Eagle Eye with Billy Bob Thorton and Shia LaBeouf. He appeared in ABC's Comander in Chief as Vince Taylor, aide to the nation's first female president, played by Gina Davis. He has also been seen on Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives and NCIS. Azizi has played several other recurring roles on television, with credits as Mohammed Hassain on Threat Matrix, Rafique and Mamud Rasheed Faheen on episodes of 24 and Petrosh on The Shield among others. He has guest starred onThe West Wing, Gilmore Girls, J.A.G., The Agency, That's Life, Strong Medicine and War Stories..
Michael Biren ‘08 is currently in Manila, Philippines rehearsing for the International Tour of Cinderella starring Tony Award winner Lea Salonga. Over the next nine months, he will be touring througout the Philippines, several cities in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Qatar, Korea, and possibly Japan. Dany Guy '08 is currently performing in the Philadelphia-based 
Rachel Shapiro performed in the world premiere of Paula Vogel's new play A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS at the Long Wharf Theatre. Directed by Tina Landau, the new musical by Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel intertwines many lives in the Lincoln White House on a cold Christmas Eve. John Speredakos is a professional actor in theatre, film, and television who graduated with an M.F.A. from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University; his film credits include: The Roost, Wendigo, Rules of Engagement, School Ties. TV credits: Brewster Place , Return to Lonesome Dove, Sirens, Kojak, Law and Order, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Broadway and National Tour Credits: A View From the Bridge, Death of a Salesman. Chris Scheer has performed lead roles in two new off-broadway plays, entitled Takura and Frost, with 
Lanie MacEwan continues her professional acting career in New York and in regional theatres. She made her Denver Center debut in Lisa Loomer's Living Out; her New York credits include Rexie Gordon (photo) opposite Tony Award-winner John Rubinstein in the Off-Broadway production of Elmer Rice's Counsellor-At Law with the Peccadillo Theater Company (2005 Lucille Lortel Award Winner); Bridget (u/s) in Give Me Your Answer Do! with the Roundabout Theater; Amy in Victor Kahn's Fit to Kill at the Clurman Theatre, and Portia in The Merchant of Venice with the Revolving Shakespeare Company. She completed her M.F.A. in Acting at Rutgers University.
Justis Bolding is playing Sarah Roberts on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live. The character of Sarah is the daughter of Cord Roberts and Tina Clayton Lord, well-known characters from OLTL history. she completed a demo recording for a new musical, Swimming Upstream, where she performed the role of Sally Jo. Justis has also appeared in New York at the Lincoln Center Director's Lab, American Theatre of Actors, Wings, Riant, and Inverse Theatres. A member of the Harbor Theatre Company, she has appeared on the American TV series 7th Heaven (2005) and on-camera in commercials, industrials, and independent films as well as MTV's Undressed (2002). When not acting, Justis spends her time working with dogs and is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. SAG AFTRA.
Anthony Azizi returned to Primetime television in the recurring role of Omar in ABC's award-winning drama Lost last season and appears in the movie thriller Eagle Eye with Billy Bob Thorton and Shia LaBeouf. He appeared in ABC's Comander in Chief as Vince Taylor, aide to the nation's first female president, played by Gina Davis. He has also been seen on Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives and NCIS. Azizi has played several other recurring roles on television, with credits as Mohammed Hassain on Threat Matrix, Rafique and Mamud Rasheed Faheen on episodes of 24 and Petrosh on The Shield among others. He has guest starred onThe West Wing, Gilmore Girls, J.A.G., The Agency, That's Life, Strong Medicine and War Stories..
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